The Dark of Night
by lou1013
Summary: An Olicity fic, partially following the present first half of Series two. Oliver and Felicity deal with darkness within themselves but how can they allow themselves happiness when there is so many obstacles? Slow burn! Slade appears later on.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry this is a little darker than my usual stuff but hope you enjoy anyway.**

The Dark of Night.

Felicity knew that something wasn't right with Oliver. It had been a few months since he had returned from Lian Yu for the second time. She had (begrudgingly) become his executive assistant and he was trying to improve the reputation of his alter ego (whom he preferred be called Arrow, rather than the Hood) and things were going pretty good.

Over the past few months Felicity and Oliver had worked together closely. She was at his side each day, playing the part of his dutiful assistant. It wasn't as bad as she thought. In fact he had a whole other secretary who worked down the hall in a separate office who answered his calls, typed his letters and made his coffee. Felicity's job was to pretty much plan his meetings and advise him. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was quite enjoying it.

At lunch-time they would sit on the plush couch in his office, their shoes off and feet on the coffee table, eating from take out boxes and talking. Not talking about work- just conversing and learning about each other. Diggle was often there but a lot of the time, it was just herself and Oliver.

They had started to relax around each other and even shared some personal things with each other. Like a few weeks ago Felicity let it slip that she made out with her (female) college roommate after too much tequila and that her friend was a great kisser. Oliver's mouth hung open at her accidental admission so he made her feel a little better by telling her that he once woke up wedged in a child's swing (with very little clothes on) after a night of drinking Tequila with Tommy. It took a worried phone call to Tommy and a hacksaw to dislodge him before the police could arrest him for loitering in a children's park. Felicity almost choked on her sushi as he told the story. He had a genuinely happy face on him when he told stories about Tommy, his hands waving enthusiastically in the air.

The only difference between their days and evenings was location and attire. Usually Felicity would change out of her more glamorous work dresses (her pay raise did help boost her wardrobe) into jeans or more comfortable looser dresses and flats. Oliver would change from his business suits to either his 'green' suit or his sweat-pants and nothing else. Felicity would try her best not to watch him train shirtless but she usually failed to hide the quick glances. Sometimes Oliver would ignore it, so as not to embarrass her. Other times he would give her a quick, knowing smile.

Then something changed. The case with Barton Mathis seemed to cast a cloud over Oliver. He was a serial killer and Felicity was to be used for bait. He was already in bad enough mood after Laurel trapped him but he was not at all happy that Felicity would have to be used to attract him. Felicity had told her it was her decision and that she had discussed the plan already with Officer Lance. His jaw tensed and he didn't speak but she could see his chest rise and falling more sharply and his eyes cast downwards. She knew he wasn't happy.

When she came back to their lair after Mathis had grabbed her (and got away), Oliver was fuming. He banged down the metal steps and threw his gear off quickly. His eyes were livid. When he turned and saw her sitting on the edge of the medical table, his anger softened some. His eyes rose to hers and he took a tentative step forward.

Diggle was cleaning up a wound on her neck. "All done. Shouldn't even scar."

"Thanks Dig," Felicity tried to say as upbeat as possible, a forced smile on her face.

"I'll just clean up and I'll take you home," Diggle said, rubbing his friend gently on the arm.

When Diggle walked towards the bathroom, Oliver approached Felicity cautiously. They had fought about her going out there tonight before she left and her eyes were avoiding his altogether. She played with the hem of her pink top.

When he was right in front of her his hand reached for her, but didn't quite touch her neck, where Diggle had placed a bandage. "Are you ok?"

"It's only a scratch. I think the bandage is a bit of an overkill but Dig insisted. And well he has the medical training so who am I to argue. But it's fine. I'm fine altogether." Felicity's voice was trembling, her eyes still downcast.

"Are you really ok?" Oliver asked. His hand hovered next to her cheek for a moment before he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.

Felicity pursed her lips together and raised her eyes to meet Oliver's. "I can't wait to get out of these clothes. I swear I can smell that monster off my clothes." Tears started to prick at her eyes. Oliver didn't hesitate. He pulled her towards him and enveloped her in his arms. It took a few seconds but then he felt Felicity relax into his chest. She let out a long sigh and then wrapped her arms around his back. Her head fit snugly under his chin and he stroked her hair soothingly. Felicity pulled back slightly, only enough to look up towards Oliver. Her cheeks were moist and she sniffled slightly. She swallowed hard and was about to speak when Diggle returned.

"You ready to head…?" Diggle suddenly realized the intimacy of the scene in front of him and stopped midsentence.

Oliver pulled back quickly and Felicity dried her eyes on her sleeve. She hopped up off the table and said with as much chirpiness as she could muster, "Yup. All ready."

When Felicity had gathered her things and Diggle was leading her out of the lair, his hand reassuringly hovering over her lower back Oliver spoke. "Give me a text message later and let me know you're ok. Please."

Felicity looked back towards him and managed a half-smile. "Will do. Night."

For a few weeks after that incident, things slowly started to return to normal. Oliver was lightening up around her again and they were more at ease. But then something bad happened. Bad was probably not a strong enough adjective to describe the situation. Oliver had needed Felicity to come with him to an office building late one night. The building outwardly looked like it sold life assurance but it was actually a front for gun running. They had major firewalls on their computers and Oliver needed Felicity to be able to predict their next shipment.

The mission had gone down hill when a silent alarm was triggered and a mini army descended on the building. Oliver had managed to hide Felicity as much as possible and incapacitated about a dozen men. He tried not to kill if possible lately but this good intentions came back to bite him. One of the injured men fell to the floor, his leg bloodied and mangled. When he fell to the ground he saw Felicity crouched behind a desk. While Oliver was working on the last guard, the injured man reached for a fallen weapon and pointed it directly at Felicity. Her back was turned and she didn't see him aiming. But Oliver did. He was across the room though and his bow had been knocked to the ground. By the time he got to his bow, the guard had pulled the trigger. Oliver felt like it was in slow motion. He saw the man's finger tighten on the trigger. Then there was nothing. The weapon didn't fire. The man pulled at the trigger again and again before realizing it was jammed and banging it on the ground. Oliver didn't hesitate. He wasn't giving him another chance and planted an arrow in his back.

Oliver pulled Felicity roughly out from under the desk and made their escape. On the trip back a heavy silence hung between them. When Diggle had cleared them from the danger zone he asked how it went.

While Oliver pointedly continued looking out the window silently, Felicity spoke. "Ok I suppose. Could have been better but we got what we went in for."

Felicity noticed Oliver bristle. "Ok? Ok is not how it went." His voice was low and it sent a shiver through her in the same was she was sure it sent a shiver through his enemies. "He fired at your head but his gun jammed. You should be dead right now."

Bile rose in Felicity throat. "Oh. I didn't know," Felicity answered, her voice quivering slightly. The remainder of the journey was in silence. Oliver avoided her gaze at all cost.

When they returned to the lair, Oliver disappeared to clean himself up. He didn't speak a single word to either of them. Diggle offered Felicity a ride home but she said she had her car outside. "Will you be ok with Mr. Broody there?"

"I'll only stay a few minutes more to look at the data we retrieved. I'm pretty tired now." Felicity gave him an assuring smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Ok so. Get some sleep though."

"I will. Thanks."

Felicity sat in front of the computers, her legs pulled in under herself. She wasn't sure if was the temperature in there or the fact that she was almost killed but she was shivering. She didn't hear Oliver enter the room again.

"You should go," Oliver shot at her coldly.

"I'll head home in a minute," Felicity responded without looking back to him.

"No. I mean you should go altogether. I want you to leave."

Felicity slowly pulled her legs out from under her, her toes having gone numb and stumbled to her feet. Her shoes were abandoned somewhere under the desk and she didn't take the time to look for them. She turned to look at Oliver. He was staring frostily at her. "What do you mean Oliver?" Felicity was sure her voice was breaking slightly.

"I want you to leave and not to come back. You have helped us a lot Felicity," Oliver almost spat her name, "but you are a liability now and we don't need a liability."

Felicity felt that tickle in her eyes, the kind you get while trying not to cry. "Why are you saying these things Oliver?"

"Because it's true. I will move you back to the IT department tomorrow. You can keep the raise but I no longer need you to be my assistant."

"I don't care about the money. You know I don't care about that kind of thing," Felicity spat back at Oliver. She took a step closer to him and was suddenly acutely aware of how small she was next to him in her bare feet.

"You can tell people you quit as my assistant if you want but I don't need you for my day or my night job anymore. Thank you for your service." Oliver turned to move away as if he was done.

"Thank you for my service?" Felicity practically screamed at Oliver. "My service really? How about my loyalty? My discretion? How about the endless days and nights that I've worked with you to help make this city a better place."

Oliver's voice was lower now but no less cold. "And I thank you for that but I don't need you to help me. I can do this without you."

Felicity voice softened slightly as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "You're just throwing me out. That's it? I've outlived my usefulness and I'm thrown out with the trash. Is that it?"

"Please don't make this any harder on yourself…"

Felicity cut him off. "Harder on myself? How dare you?" Felicity's tears were held back by the anger she was feeling right now. "At least look at me when you throw me away."

Felicity saw the tension building in his shoulders before he slowly turned to look at her once again. His eyes were filled with something she couldn't quite place. Was it anger? Despite the hurtful words he was saying to her, it pained her to see him like this. Oliver took a deep breath and his eyes cast downwards. "You need to leave now."

"Why? I don't understand where this is coming from. Is it because of the man back at that building? Because if it is, I'm fine. Look at me I'm ok."

Oliver's voice was angrier than she had ever heard. "But you should be dead. If that gun hadn't jammed, your brains would have been smeared all over the walls of that building and there would have been nothing I could have done."

Felicity was shocked by the tone of his voice. "I'm in dangerous situations all the time."

"Exactly. No more! You're done. You're done with this life and done with me. OK?" Felicity had never heard Oliver so angry. If she didn't know him so well, she would have been scared by the way he looked at her now.

"Don't I get to decide that?" Felicity begged.

"NO!" Oliver roared and took a step closer to her. He was now only inches from her but she was determined to hold her ground.

Felicity tried to extend a hand towards him but he flinched. "You can't be responsible…"

Felicity was cut off by his hands roughly catching her uppers arms. "I am dangerous. Being with me is dangerous. You cannot be with me."

Felicity whole body tensed in his grip. His fingers were tight around her arms. His eyes burned into hers. "This isn't you Oliver."

"No this is exactly me! Maybe you think you know the real me but you don't. I'm a killer. I'm dangerous. I am not a good person."

Tears started to flow down Felicity's cheeks and for a second she thought she saw his anger wane but then he shook his head slightly and pushed her back two steps so that her back was against the hard concrete wall. "You are a good…" her voice quivered.

"NO. I am not. Do you hear me? I am dangerous. I could do anything to you right now and you couldn't stop me." Oliver's voice sounded disembodied.

"You wouldn't hurt me," Felicity voice was weak, a sob escaping her throat.

"Would I not? You couldn't stop me if I wanted to hurt you." Oliver sounded like a man possessed.

"You wouldn't hurt me," Felicity repeated, her voice almost a squeak now.

Oliver's fingers dug further into her arms until it almost hurt. "I have hurt you time and time again." His grip loosed slightly. "I've hurt you enough."

Felicity tried to muster all the bravery she could. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to make me hate you so I'll leave but that's not going to happen. I know you. I trust you."

Oliver's eyes fell from hers but his hands didn't leave her arms. "You should hate me. You should run away as fast as you can. I will get you killed and I can't live without…" Oliver's voice was barely audible.

"I could never hate you Oliver." As if the sound of her saying his voice snapped him back to himself, he let go of her arms.

"You should. I have done nothing but bring terrible things upon you." Oliver's eyes were frozen on a spot on the floor.

"You have let me be part of this team that helps the people of this city. You have given real meaning to my life. And if that means that danger comes with it, so be it." When she finished her sentence she tentatively reached a hand out to rest against Oliver's chest. "I won't leave you. So get that out of your head right now."

"How do you know I wouldn't hurt you? Why do you trust me?" Oliver's eyes finally lifted to meet with Felicity's.

"I just know. I know the good spirit inside you that I think sometimes you don't even believe is in there."

And then something happened that Felicity didn't expect. Oliver fell on his two knees in front of her. It was as if all the anger had drained from him and he was unable to keep himself upright anymore. He put his two hands to his face and Felicity wasn't sure if he was crying. She placed a hand in his hair and stroked her hand over his head to soothe him. When he slumped back onto his heels, Felicity fell onto her knees in front of him. She waited for what seemed like several minutes but he didn't remove his hands from in front of his face. His shoulders sagged and his breathing raspy.

The tears were drying on Felicity's cheeks when she decided to lift a hand to his and gently tugged them down. What she saw looked like a broken man. She didn't think she had seen him like this since the night Tommy died and she hoped she would never see him like this again.

Felicity held his two hands on her laps. Oliver looked at their intertwined hands but couldn't look at her face. She could see that his eyes were red but more than that she could see that there was a dejected look in them. She barely heard him when he spoke. "I'm sorry."

Felicity broke one of her hands from his grasp and lifted it to his face. "Apology accepted."

Felicity stroked along his strong jaw-bone and felt the tension still within him. "You really are remarkable aren't you?" Oliver lifted his head to look at her. "How can I ever apologize enough…"

"I just said apology accepted. I know you were only saying those things to protect me. And I'm glad you care that much about my safety that you would force me away from you. But I'm not going anywhere. OK?"

A sound almost like a sob escaped Oliver's chest and Felicity leant her head down to rest on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and rubbed his back. Oliver ran his arms around her waist and held her close. After a while Felicity's legs began to feel numb and Oliver's breaths had slowed so she pulled back from his embrace slowly. "Thank you Felicity. I don't know what I'd ever do without you." The genuineness of his sentiment brought a small smile to her lips. They knew they would have a lot of talk about but for now they were contented to put this night behind them.

**I love would love it if you all reviewed.**


	2. Chapter 2

** This is really angsty and does have a bit of swearing so please avoid if it isn't your thing. Thanks. ****Please leave comments- it really helps.**

**All mistakes are mine as I write quickly and don't proofread well! Also I don't own Arrow- unfortunately.**

The Dark Of Night: Chapter 2

Felicity was not having a good day. If she were honest she wasn't having a good week. Or even a good month for that matter. Today started off with her oversleeping. She had been up until 4am helping Oliver and Dig track down information on a spate of strange deaths in the Glades. Men had been found dead with blood coming from their eyes and an unidentified substance in their bloodstream.

Felicity never overslept. In fact with the work she has been doing with Oliver and Digg, she didn't sleep much at all any more. This morning she had obviously knocked off her alarm instead of hitting the snooze. Half way through her shower the water ran cold and she had to wash the shampoo out of her hair in icy water. She spilled coffee on herself before even leaving the apartment and had to run back to change her dress. She felt the sting on her skin the burning liquid had left.

Oliver wouldn't ever mind if she was late but today it was important she be on time for an imperative board meeting. All the board members would be present including Isabel.

When Felicity arrived at QC, somebody had parked in her reserved parking space. Usually there was a fight to get the good spots but Oliver had made sure Felicity always had her own spot- somewhere safe and well lit near the security cameras and easy access to the lift. Today however, someone had parked their very expensive looking Jaguar in her spot, completely ignoring her name plate. She had to drive around for ages looking for a spot and in the end she was forced to park on the street. Of course she didn't have enough change for the meter and had to run into a shop to buy some gum to get change and then had to charm the parking warden when she returned into not giving her a ticket. The young parking warden wasn't immune to Felicity's sweet smile and he let her off the hook. She put the maximum number of coins into the meter and then ran to the Executive Floor of QC towards the conference room, laden down with files.

When she arrived at the conference room she felt completely flustered. She saw all the big shareholders sitting around the table and when she caught a glance of herself in the reflection of one of the windows, she knew she looked as flustered as she felt. Oliver tried to give her a reassuring half smile through the window when he saw her approach but it did little to reduce her stress levels.

Felicity hoped she could quietly slip into the room to the vacant seat next to Oliver but when she opened the door it creaked loudly and Isabel stopped speaking in the middle of her obviously important speech and stared pointedly at Felicity. All the other board members turned to look at her and Isabel purposely waited for her to struggle to her seat with all her files before finishing what she was saying. Oliver half stood to help her but Felicity waved him away, not wanting to embarrass her boss in front of all the board members.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted…" Isabel continued, a venomous tone to her voice and proceeded with her speech on stock prices.

"You ok?" Oliver whispered, leaning close to Felicity's ear. She tried not to be affected by the feeling of his warm breath on the sensitive part of her ear.

"Yeah. Fine. Sorry I'm late." Felicity tried to prop files on the desk but pieces of paper kept slipping from the files onto the floor. Felicity leant under the table to retrieve them as Isabel directed a question at Oliver. Felicity came up too quickly and slammed her head on the underside of the heavy table interrupting Oliver's response.

Oliver gave her a concerned look as Felicity sat rubbing the new bump on her head. She gave him a shake of her head to indicate that he should ignore her clumsiness today and continue on with his response to the board. He was talking about next quarter predictions or something when she suddenly realized Oliver was looking at her for the report. Horror played across her face as she realized she didn't have that file with her.

"Sorry Mr. Queen. I'll just run and get that," Felicity apologized.

"Don't worry Ms. Smoak. There's no rush with it." Oliver was trying to be kind but it made her feel all the more foolish.

As she quickly exited the room she heard one of the board members (who looked like an obese walrus and didn't smell much better) snigger to his companion. "She may be a hot piece of tail but she's a pretty useless assistant." His equally repulsive companion replied like he was a rock star, "I'd still tap it though." She saw Oliver's eyes dart threateningly in their direction, even though she was sure he couldn't have heard them from where he sat.

As she raced down the hallway towards their office, she felt a cold sweat pool on her low back. She couldn't decide if it was the sting of the burn on her leg or the growing bump on her head that was worse or whether it was the sheer embarrassment of the meeting but she would have loved nothing more than to crawl into bed and not get back up until tomorrow.

The rest of the meeting passing tediously late into the morning and while Oliver hung back to talk to some of the board members, Felicity made a quiet retreat to her desk. As she was about to boot up her computer, she remembered that she had to get Oliver to sign a report today from human resources or she would get an ear-full from the head of HR. She knew she had left it with Oliver to sign the night before so she went into his office, sitting down on one of the chairs (to ease the ache from these stupid new shoes) and rifled through a bunch of papers.

A cold burst of air came down from the air conditioning unit above her head. She made a mental note to get the faulty unit fixed when all of a sudden her heart rate began to rise. A painful memory was threatening to break to the surface. It was because she remembered the cold air coming down on her neck the night the Count held her here less than a month ago. She was shivering in fear but the icy breeze did little to help the situation. Felicity's breathing accelerated and became shallower and her head began to feel a bit light. The air con blew her ponytail over the bare skin on her shoulders and she recalled vividly the sickening feel of the Count playing with her hair that night. She was so lost in the memory that she didn't hear Oliver and Digg enter the office.

"Felicity? Felicity! You ok?" Oliver was standing in front of her, a look of concern on his face. Felicity could feel a tightness in her stomach and the prickle of threatening tears. As Digg went to place a hand on her arm, she jumped up suddenly, papers falling to the floor.

"I'm fine," she lied. Felicity was bending down to collect the fallen files but she knew she wouldn't be able to hold back tears if her two boys were being so considerate with her. She jumped up suddenly, leaving the files fall again. "Sorry I just have to run to the bathroom. I'll tidy them in a few minutes. Just leave them," she shouted over her shoulder, somewhat more brashly than she intended.

Felicity locked the door behind her in the lady's room. She was glad of the plush executive toilets up on this floor. There was chair in front of the mirror. She often wondered did rich people all have seats in their bathrooms and for what real purpose other than not having to stand while doing their make-up. She sank into the velvet material and closed her eyes. Felicity tried to keep her breathing under control. She was so embarrassed that she nearly cried in front of Diggle and Oliver. She knew that they wouldn't be anything other than concerned about but she didn't want to come across as a weak women who needed to cry just because she was having a bad day.

Two days ago Barry had told her that he needed to leave Starling City and get back home. When his crime scene work was wrapped up, he took a few vacation days to spend with Felicity. They had only gone on a few dates but he made her feel special. He was kind and gentlemanly and looked at her like there was nobody else in the world. He made her feel beautiful and he loved how smart she was. He made her feel like she was somebody he could love. She let her mind stray one too many times thinking that she would love if Oliver looked at her like that but she realized that Oliver just wasn't that kind of person.

When Oliver had told her after their return from Russia that he couldn't be with someone he cared about, she briefly toyed with the idea that he was implying some feelings for her but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. For one thing Oliver was not somebody who should be dating anyone right now and she didn't think that even if he could, he would want her. She knew he really cared about her. Killing the Count more than proved that. However she didn't think he ever felt romantically about her.

Barry had asked her to visit him when he went home but as hard as it was for her, she told him that she'd like to just remain friends. He looked heartbroken and she immediately thought maybe she should reconsider but her initial feelings were right. She couldn't really be dating anyone right now.

Felicity was having one of those days where her self-confidence was low. So low it was in her shoes. A few weeks ago at the Gala, she thought she saw something akin to jealousy in Oliver's eyes when he was watching her dance with Barry and it boosted her confidence. When he asked to cut in and started dancing with her, she felt something that she was desperately trying to suppress. It was those feelings again that made her feel like a teenager with a crush. The feel of his hard muscles pushed up against her body as they danced and the easy way he smiled at her as he looked into her eyes. Her illusion was shattered though when Laurel asked to cut in with Oliver. As Felicity walked away from Oliver across the dance floor, she realized how stupid she had been. Why would Oliver have feelings for her? He's probably still in love with gorgeous Laurel. It wasn't Laurel's fault and she hated herself for feeling bitter against Laurel. This woman wasn't her rival and had recently had a very hard time.

Felicity stood up from the chair and gave herself a mental pep talk in the mirror. 'You're just tired. Pull it together and get back to work. Everyone is allowed have their bad days.'

Oliver had a lunch meeting with his mother and advised Felicity to go out and get a bit of air to clear her head. He tenderly placed a hand on her shoulder and asked her for about the fiftieth time that day if she was ok before she collected her bag and left for lunch.

Oliver was right. It was a good idea to clear her head. It was freezing out and she pulled her scarf tightly around herself to keep warm. She loved these cold bright days. The festive decorations were up and people were happy shopping on their lunch breaks.

As she passed an artisan Deli near QC, she spotted something in the window. Oliver wasn't much of a drinker, especially as he tried to maintain absolute control as the Arrow. However he always like tasting different whiskeys from small distilleries. He told her he loved to taste ones he'd never heard off. They were hit and miss but why miss out on the great ones for the sake of trying a few bad ones. This bottle was caller 'Archer's choice' and she couldn't help herself buying it for him. She would give it to him this evening and maybe if he was in the mood, they could have a taste of it together. God knows she could do with a drink to wind down this evening.

Oliver was in meetings all afternoon. She looked through the glass occasionally to see his CEO mask steadily in place. She sent him an IM to see if he wanted coffee but he politely refused with a winking smiley face emoticon. He knew if was hard for her to swallow her pride and make him coffee!

At 6pm, she still hadn't managed to speak to Oliver all afternoon. She hoped his mother appreciated that role he had taken on in her absence. When she was released from prison, she still couldn't rejoin the company. Even if she was acquitted in court, she was still guilty in the eyes of a lot of shareholders.

Oliver's last meeting ended and Felicity was about to make her way to his office with her present for him when she heard the ping of the elevator. Dread rose in her as she spied the face of Isabel exiting. 'As if this day hasn't been bad enough,' she thought. Felicity's mouth held a tight line as she stared at the approaching woman.

Isabel was her usual pleasant self. "You look tired my dear. Not sleeping?" The tone of her voice did not convey any concern for Felicity's wellbeing.

"I just didn't sleep much last night," Felicity mumbled.

Isabel encroached a bit too much on Felicity's personal space and whispered bitterly, "Well if you can't handle being Oliver's EA and his whore, you should really give up one of those jobs. Why don't I give you tonight off?" Isabel's perfectly made up eyes narrowed as she cocked her head to the side and stared at Felicity.

Felicity was just about to respond when she was saved by Oliver coming out of his office. It was probably a good job he did or she did not know what expletive she would have let rip at Isabel. Isabel turned on her fake smile for Oliver and followed him into the office. Felicity's face felt like it was on fire so much so that she didn't notice Oliver walk back out towards her. Isabel was making herself comfortable on Oliver's couch.

"Why don't you go home? You look exhausted," Oliver said sincerely concerned sounding. "I don't need you to hang around for this meeting."

Acid rose in Felicity's throat as she replied as steadily as she could. "Okay. See you tomorrow." She left a slightly confused Oliver standing there watching her quickly grab her things and run.

Felicity sat at home that evening staring at the bottle of whiskey. She looked at it for the longest time and then decided she needed a drink. After a few glasses of it (she wasn't sure how many as she was drinking it from the bottle), she was getting more and more bitter. Her mother always told her people can get nasty on whiskey but she never really noticed herself before.

"Stupid Isabel with her model figure and lusty eyes!" It wasn't the fact the Oliver slept with somebody that upset her. He was a single attractive man and he owed her no explanation of his love life. But why her? It wasn't just because she was trying to take over the company and her name was on the List. She had convinced herself that it was convenient to distract Isabel while Diggle was in the Gulag. It was because Isabel showed a complete lack of respect for her. That's why she was mad at Oliver.

She hated that Oliver allowed this woman who demeaned her at every opportunity and talked down to her all the time into his bed. She knew what Isabel was implying as she left Oliver's room that night telling her she could have the night off. She had directly called her a whore tonight. She wanted to tell this all to Oliver and even took her phone out to ring him but what good would that do? It would just make her look like a jealous, immature girl.

After way too much whiskey, she decided she needed company. She didn't even need someone to talk to. Just noise and the sound of other people's voices. She grabbed her coat and walked to the nearest bar. She hadn't been in it before because she always thought it looked a bit seedy but in her inebriated state, she didn't care.

The bar was maybe half full, alot of men in suits as she lived near the business district. She sat on the bar stool with great effort. Was it always this difficult to climb on these freaking stools or was she just that drunk, she thought? She didn't care either way.

After a few more glasses of whiskey (she thought their measures were a bit mean though), she heard her phone ring. She fumbled in her bag to find it only to see Oliver's name appear on the screen. She always answered Oliver's calls but she decided to take a night off. After it rang a few more times, she decided he wasn't going to stop until she answered.

"Yes Oliver," she answered. She tried her best to not slur her speech.

"Felicity I need you to do a bit of research for me. Can you come to the foundry tonight? I know you're tired but I'd…"

"I'm sorry Mr. Queen but I'm having a night off." She definitely failed at not slurring that time.

A pause followed on Oliver's side. "Are you drunk Felicity?"

"I've been drinking but I'm not drunk. Sober as a judge. Well not this judge I knew back home because he was a raging alcoholic but… well I don't know what that saying means really."

"Are you ok?" Oliver interrupted.

"You don't need to keep asking me that. I'm absolutely fine."

"Where are you? I'll come get you."

"I told you I can't work tonight. I'm not at your beck and call all the time Oliver. I have a life too." Felicity was louder that she meant to be and noticed a few heads turn in the bar.

"I don't need you for work. That can wait. I just want to give you a lift home."

"I walked here and I can manage to walk home. I'm a big girl."

"This city isn't safe to walk around at night. I'm coming to get you."

"I'm hanging up Oliver. Goodnight." Felicity ended the phone-call. She sometimes wished for an old fashioned phone she could slam down in a temper.

Fortunately for Oliver, Felicity was inebriated enough to forget to turn off her GPS tracker. He jumped into the car and headed to the location on his screen.

As Felicity moped over her drink a bit longer, a man came to sit next to her. "Fight with the boyfriend?"

Felicity looked over at the man. Even though her vision was blurry, she noticed he wasn't a completely unattractive man. He motioned the bar man to get her another drink. Felicity's head was very hazy and she didn't think she should drink any more. She thought she felt the man's hand running up and down her leg but her arms felt heavy and her mouth dry. She didn't really know what the man was saying but felt he was a little too close for comfort. She thought she heard him say he'd walk her home then she heard a familiar and rather angry voice behind him.

"I suggest you take that hand off her or I'll break it off."

"Hey man. I'm not doing anything she didn't want me too. Why don't you find yourself another girl?"

"I don't want another woman. I want this one. She's so drunk right now I don't think she's really fit to consent to letting your paws on her."

The man must have heard the murderous tone in Oliver's voice as he retreated to the back of the bar.

"You scared off my new friend." This was all Felicity was able to manage to say as Oliver placed a glass of water in front of her. She hadn't even heard him order it.

"I highly doubt that man would ever be a friend of yours." Oliver handed her three small tablets.

"I don't do drugs thanks," Felicity sniggered, clearly delighted with her joke.

"They'll help the headache and settle your stomach. Remember I was a real playboy before being stranded on that island. I know how to sober up fast and get rid of a hangover." Oliver did not sound judgmental at the state his friend was in. "And when you finish that glass of water, go splash water on your face in the bathroom and drink this coffee and I'll walk you home."

"Don't be nice to me Queen. I don't need your pity." That statement would have had alot more punch if she didn't almost fall getting off the barstool.

"I don't pity you at all Felicity. If you're not back in two minutes I'm coming to get you. And if I see any of these men head in your direction, I'll break someone's jaw."

Despite how awful Felicity was feeling, a small smile came to her face. As she cleaned herself up in the bathroom, she kicked herself for having that last drink or two. 'It's a fine line between a happy buzz and feeling like shit,' she mused.

As Felicity neared the bar again, she heard Oliver finishing up a call with Diggle. He slid a cup of coffee along the bar towards her. He had a cup in front of him too. "It's got lots of sugar and milk in it too so it won't be too harsh on your stomach. Now drink this down and then we'll go."

Felicity sat in silence sipping her milky coffee. Whatever he had given her had made her head clear up very slightly. A tightness began to work its way up her chest. She felt like a bold child being caught drunk by their parents. Not that her parents ever caught her drunk. She was always the good girl. Why couldn't she just rebel the once?

When she finished her coffee, she saw Oliver hand the barman a wad of money and felt his hand firmly pulling her out of the bar. She staggered slightly on the step outside but the freezing cold air brought her to her senses. Oliver helped her into her coat. "It must be below freezing at least tonight," Oliver said.

"Why are you talking to me like you didn't just drag me from a dive where some letch was trying to take me home?"

"Well I'm glad you are sobering up enough to realize he was lecherous. And we've all been dragged from bars at some point in our lives!"

As the walked towards her apartment, she realized it was taking her a lot longer to walk home than it did to get to the bar earlier. Oliver patiently walked by her side, occasionally holding his hand up slightly to right Felicity when she swayed. Other than that he didn't say a thing. Felicity realized there must have been a small drift of snow earlier as there was a crunching underfoot as she walked. The streets were almost empty at this time on a weeknight and as they approached her building, Felicity began to feel the humiliation of Oliver seeing her like this. She wanted nothing more than to bury her head under her bedcovers and cry. She knew tomorrow she'd be back to her normal happy self but tonight she was allowed feel sorry for herself.

"You can just leave me here. I can see my building," Felicity tried.

"That's not happening Felicity," Oliver said, cupping his hand under her elbow. "It's icy and you're drunk and I'm going to get you at least up the steps of your building."

Felicity realized that whiskey really did do funny things with your mood as she felt antagonistic towards Oliver right now. "Yeah I am drunk. I'm not going to apologise for that."

"I wasn't asking you to apologise. You're allowed…"

"You don't need to tell me what I am and am not allowed to do." Felicity realized her voice was louder than intended. "I can do whatever I want. I can go back there and sleep with that man in the bar if I like." She didn't know why she saying these things. Whiskey had control of her tongue.

"Is that what you want?"

"Maybe it is," she lied. "You get to sleep with whomever you like. Why wouldn't I?" She saw the slightly shocked look on Oliver face but he took a deep breath and swallowed down a response. "Is it because you think that nobody would want to sleep with me?" Oh no- her brain really was not in control. "Boring IT nerd that comes second to gorgeous brunettes all the time."

"That's not true Felicity."

"What do you care anyway who I sleep with?" Felicity staggered slightly on the icy path but swatted away Oliver's hand when he went to help her.

"Of course I care. You're my friend." Oliver's voice was even with no hint of irritation at how irrational Felicity was being.

"Your friend? Really?" Felicity's tone was mocking.

"Of course you're my friend."

"Well I'm your overqualified assistant who has to listen to whispers every time I pass a group of QC workers. People who used to be friendly to me in the IT department avoid eye contact with me now because I know they send around venomous joke emails about me sleeping with the CEO. But I don't let it bother me usually. I know I got to where I am by being good at my job and not good at blow jobs as is suggested by the inscriptions on the bathroom wall on the twelve floor. I know I'm useful in my position in QC and I let those snickering idiots have their fun."

"I'm sorry Felicity about that. But you're also my friend," Oliver tried to reassure her.

"Well I know I'm the _Arrow's," _she whispered this bit, "personal researcher but usually that guy just barks orders down the phone at me…" Felicity knew deep down that he didn't always do that and that he usually apologized when he was too sharp with her.

"I'm sorry if I do that too. You know I appreciate everything you do." Oliver took a step closer to her.

"And then there's that bitch!" Felicity practically spat the last word. Oliver knew instantly who she was talking about. "It's none of my business who you sleep with no more than it's your business who I sleep with but her? Honestly. She tries to disrespect me at every opportunity. She treats me like shit. So are you saying it's ok to sleep with a woman who treats you _friend _like that?"

A long silence fell between them. Oliver looked down at the snow on his shoes and looked back at Felicity. There were tears in her eyes. He knew she would be so embarrassed to cry in front of him and he hated that it was him that was making her feel like this.

Oliver was about to speak but Felicity started, much quieter than before. "I give everything to you. My days. My nights. My weekends. I used to sleep like a baby but now my nights are filled with terror at all the things I've seen and done. But I never blame you. I chose this. I wanted to help and you're doing everything you can to make this city a better place but…" her voice faltered as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I'd just like for once that you recognize that I would give everything up for you not because you asked me too but because I thought you needed me to."

Oliver approached Felicity slowly, his hands coming up to grip her shoulders. Tears now freely flowed down her face. "I do need you. Every day I thank my lucky stars that I have you. And not just for my work. But for my sanity. You ground me and make me smile and since I've known you, you've chipped away the barrier of pain that I had erected. I can never thank you enough for what you do for me. And for what you have given up to help me."

Felicity looked up slowly at him. Oliver noticed she looked more sober than before but a small sob escaped her throat. Oliver didn't hesitate to pull her towards him. He hugged her tight against his chest and felt the gentle sobs escape her. "I'm sorry Oliver," Felicity murmured into him.

"Don't you dare apologise. If I wasn't so pig headed I would have noticed you needed a friend to talk to earlier today. In the dark of night things always seem worse. Apart from a killer headache, you'll be back to yourself tomorrow."

"Thank you Oliver."

Oliver pulled back slightly so that he could look her in the eye. She looked so fragile in his arms, her cheeks moist and puffy, biting her lower lip. "There is no need to thank me. That's what's friends are for. C'mon."

Oliver kept his arm around her shoulder and lead her up the steps to her apartment. When they were inside her apartment, Felicity's eyes already were drooping. She was still quite drunk and felt her feet could no longer hold her up. She flopped on the couch and her eyes began to fall closed. She could feel Oliver repositioning her slightly and draping a blanket over her. "I'll put the alarm on and lock the door after myself. See you tomorrow Felicity." Felicity couldn't be sure but she could swear she felt him place a soft kiss into her hair before leaving. As she drifted off, she knew things would be alright.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to all those who have taken time to review. It really does help me decide if I should go on with a story when people leave comments. So I've decided this is a multi-chapter fic after all. Enjoy.**

Dark Chapter 3

Oliver crouched behind some boxes on the roof of the Starling City General Hospital. It was a bitterly cold January. Oliver tried to ignore the painful chill biting at his fingers as he gripped his bow. Felicity had gathered intel that the gang behind the strange deaths in the Glades where men had been found with bleeding eyes were raiding hospitals for certain medical supplies. Dig was on the roof of an adjoining building where he found wires connecting to the hospital rooftop. They must have been making their escape through this less secure building.

After half an hour, Oliver heard the muffled sounds of voices and quickly spotted three masked men appearing on the roof. They carried small carrier bags of presumably stolen supplies. Oliver crept out from behind the boxes, careful to stay in the shadows and nocked an arrow.

"Drop the bags and raise your hands," Oliver said, his voice masked but the synthesizer.

"Shit, run!" The three men ran in different directions. Oliver quickly immobilized two by shooting them through the legs and knocking their weapons to the ground. The third man had hidden in the shadows and before Oliver could locate him, he fired two shots at him. Oliver's agility allowed him to avoid the bullets but he slipped on the icy ground and slip over towards the edge. Oliver was able to hold onto his bow but in order to avoid the third bullet, he had to leap over the edge of the building. Oliver's brain went into overdrive as he tried to quickly find a way to avoid falling the twenty floors to certain death. He was able to grab a window ledge briefly but the icy ledge was like glass and he only had time to propel himself to a fire escape three floors below.

Oliver immediately felt the dagger of pain dart up along his right leg. He tried not to cry out but he must have made some noise as he heard Felicity's worried voice in his ear. "Oliver. Please talk to me. Just make some sort of noise to tell me your ok."

The pain in Oliver's leg would have been enough to make most men pass out but then Oliver was not most men! "I'm ok Felicity. I just hurt my leg. Dig I need you over here quickly."

Dig was able to drag Oliver back to their lair with great difficulty. Oliver's leg was already purple and swollen and there was an obvious deformity. Oliver cringed as Dig helped him out of his gear, trying to avoid the worried look on Felicity's face as she bit down on her nails ferociously.

"I'm ok Felicity," Oliver tried to reassure. "I've had worse."

"That does little to ease my worry Oliver," she said, taking a step towards him to help him get the boot off his injured foot. Oliver bit back a scream as the pain tore through him.

"I think you need a hospital man. It looks broken," Diggle said examining the foot.

"No I'll just strap it up and it'll be fine."

"Oliver. This isn't the island. A broken ankle needs a cast and maybe surgery. You need to get this X-rayed." Diggle stood with his arms crossed over his chest and shaking his head slightly.

"Really? Shit. That's not good," Oliver replied, putting his head in his hands.

When Oliver went to the ER, he kept up his playboy billionaire act by telling the triage nurse he hurt his leg base-jumping off a building. It wasn't too far from the truth really. Fortunately he didn't need surgery but he would be in a cast for a few weeks and a boot for a few weeks more and he'd need crutches.

A few nights later, the trio were in the lair trying to convince Oliver again that there is no way The Arrow could fight crime on crutches. Oliver was beyond cranky on his crutches. He was a very difficult man to keep down and Diggle thought it would be a long six weeks trying to keep Oliver entertained. When he had come in tonight, he had found Oliver balancing on his good leg, punching one of his training dummies. Felicity told Diggle that she would have intervened but was scared he'd lose a leg in the process.

The local news station was playing on one of the screens on Felicity's computers. Oliver's attention was caught by a news report.

"Can you turn that up please Felicity?" Oliver watched the masked man on the screen calling himself Brother Blood.

_"Hello Starling City. For too long this city has been run by corrupt individuals. I am now in control of the power grid and from midnight tonight I am cutting all electricity to the city until the City Council resigns and hands power over to me. I hope you all enjoy the dark because if I am not given control, I will keep the power off and you will all suffer."_

Oliver glared at the screen long after the report ended.

"Oh my God Oliver. What are we going to do?" Diggle asked.

"I don't know. Do we have anything on this guy?"

"Nothing Oliver. I've heard whispers about that name on police reports but nothing solid. I don't know where he's working or what his game is but I'll do my best to look. But to be honest, I don't know where to start."

"Well you can start tomorrow."

"What? Oliver we need to get working on this." Felicity interjected.

"The generator is broken here. It is difficult to get a generator to a secret lair repaired without arousing suspicion. It's half eleven now so we have thirty minutes to get you to collect some stuff and come with me." Oliver was already gathering a few supplies and packing them into a bag.

"Wait. What? Where am I going?" Felicity stood, a confused look on her face.

"You're coming home with me Felicity."

Felicity's eye's widened at his statement. "Em… I am?"

"Yeah it's the safest thing to do. When the electricity goes out alarm systems won't work and every creep in the city will be up to no good. The police will be very busy and the city won't be as safe. I am not having you in your apartment on your own during a blackout. Besides you will be freezing in your apartment. The mansion has a small generator and plenty of security." Oliver held up Felicity's jacket, letting her know he was serious and needed to get moving.

"Good idea Oliver. Lyla is out of town so I'll just swing by and check on Carly and AJ and then I'll do a little bit of patrolling." Dig was checking his weapons and getting ready to head out.

"I'm so sorry man. I feel so useless right now with only one leg but I think I would be a hindrance and not a help out there."

"Don't apologize Oliver. I'd say that Harper kid might be out and about tonight too anyway so we'll do our best. Just look after this one," Diggle said, motioning to Felicity.

When Oliver was very uncomfortably positioned in the passenger seat of Felicity's car he rang Thea to make sure she was at home. His Mother was out of town for a few nights so at least she was safe. Felicity rang Officer Lance to check on Laurel and they headed towards her apartment. Oliver was glad that he had bought Felicity a new car after he bled all over her old one because he was fairly sure his leg, cast and crutches wouldn't fit in her old mini.

Felicity grabbed some clothes and things and they were just back in the car again when it turned midnight. All the lights simultaneously went out.

"This is eerie," Felicity said, starting up her car. "There will be chaos if a city-wide blackout lasts for any amount of time."

"I know. I think this guy's aim is to create chaos though." Oliver kept looking out the window of the car on the drive to the mansion, watching out for any trouble. As they approached the mansion, it suddenly hit Felicity that she was going to stay the night at Oliver's. She felt small flutters of nerves at the thought.

When they arrived at the mansion, there were a few low lights on in the hallway. "During the great storm of 2005 we learned to be conservative with our generator. This is a large estate with a lot of security surveillance and gates so with that and the heating combined, we only keep a few low lights on during blackouts. We don't know how long this will last." Oliver led Felicity into the mansion, trying to be chivalrous and hold her bag even though he was balancing on his crutches.

As Felicity got her bearings, she heard Thea's voice. "Thank God you're home Ollie. I was worried you'd be out there in that blackout." Thea hugged her brother affectionately, staring at Felicity out of the corner of her eye. "And you brought a visitor."

"You remember Felicity? Her apartment wasn't safe and we were working late in QC tonight so I thought it would be good to bring her back here." Oliver's hand landed on the small of Felicity's back, this small action giving her shivers even through her jacket.

"Yeah of course," Thea said, eyeing Felicity a bit suspiciously. "Always the gentleman Oliver." Thea's tone intimated something less gentlemanly though.

"So what are you up to Thea?" Oliver asked.

"I was just heading to bed. Will I help you make up that spare room for Felicity? I think Raisa always has it ready for visitors but you might come and check it with me?" Thea said, head cocked at her brother.

Oliver made Felicity comfortable on a big couch in front of the fire in the living room before going upstairs with his sister. Half way up Thea leaned in close and whispered. "So Ollie, do I need to waste my time making the room up or is there other… sleeping arrangements?"

"Thea! Can a man and woman not be friendly and work together without getting this kind of hassle all the time?"

"I was just asking. You know she is hot. Those legs are to die for. If Roy and I ever break up, I'd nearly change sides…"

"Don't finish that sentence Thea." Oliver tried his best not to imagine his sister chatting up Felicity.

"I'm just saying. She's a little hottie. And smart. You could do alot worse."

"We work together. It's complicated."

"Ok Ollie. I'll drop it," Thea said with a devious smile.

When Oliver returned from preparing the guest room, he found Felicity curled up in the corner of the large couch. It was cold despite the little bit of heat the generator was pumping out so Oliver threw a few more logs on the open fire.

"You ok Felicity?"

"Good thanks," Felicity said looking up from a book she was perusing. "I hope you don't mind me flicking through this book. It was on the coffee table."

"Of course not. Make yourself at home." Oliver didn't know why this statement made him feel some unidentified emotion. Maybe it was because it was so domestic, the two of them curling up in front of a fire, reading a book after a long day at work. "Would you like a little warm up? I make a mean hot port."

"Ooh. That sounds nice." Felicity hopped up from her position on the couch.

"Now I have to warn you I do make them a bit strong so don't blame me if they blow the head off you."

"I can handle it," Felicity responded with a smile.

The pair returned to the living room with their piping hot drinks. _Boy these are strong, Felicity thought._ They sat at either end of a two-seater couch. Oliver dragged a blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over Felicity's legs when he saw her rubbing her upper arms with her hands.

"Thanks Oliver." Felicity directed a warm smile at Oliver. "And thanks for looking after me tonight. I know it is eating you up that you can't be out there tonight."

"You don't need to thank me for anything. You look out for me all the time. It's about time I tried to pay you back by looking out for you tonight. I wouldn't sleep a wink if I thought you were alone in your apartment tonight."

Felicity and Oliver chatted in the light of the flickering fire. They were surprisingly easy and comfortable around each other. Oliver liked to see her let her hair down- literally and figuratively. Tonight he admired the way her curls tumbled over her shoulders, framing her face in the low light of the room. Oliver was well aware that Felicity was beautiful but she seemed to be glowing tonight.

When Oliver saw Felicity yawning, he realized they had been talking for ages and that it was nearly 3am. "We better get you to bed," Oliver started before realizing that his statement came out wrong. "I mean I'll show you to your bed."

If it was possible, Felicity swears she saw Oliver blush at his gaffe but she couldn't be sure in this low light. Oliver led Felicity up the stairs to a very large room. "Wow. This is the size of my apartment." Felicity looked around in awe at the opulence of the room. A huge four poster bed stood in the middle. Oliver had left her gear bag next to the bed and had a large covered candle next to the bed lighting. "The bathroom and wardrobe are here," Oliver said pointing to the far end of the room. "I left a lighter next to the candle and I put some bottled water on the locker. Thea is three doors down that way," Oliver gestured to one side, "and my bedroom is next door," he pointed to the other direction.

"You're next door?" Felicity tried to dampen down the not-so-patonic feeling of sleeping so close to Oliver. _'Calm yourself down Felicity. There's like fifty feet between your two beds', she told herself._

"Yeah I'm right next door if you need anything. Just shout if you need me." Oliver stood in the doorway looking at Felicity sitting on the edge of the bed. The image brought up feelings he had told himself he shouldn't be feeling for her. He paused for a few moments in the door, balancing on his crutch, his eyes locking with Felicity's. "Goodnight Felicity."

"Night Oliver," she returned with a gentle smile.

At 4am, Oliver was still staring at the ceiling above his bed. He thought that the late night and the two hot ports would help him sleep a little but the guilt of not being out there with Diggle tonight was weighing heavy on his mind. The silence of the night was abruptly broken by the sound of a familiar scream. Oliver's heart race as he leapt out of bed, grabbing a crutch as he went. That sound was unmistakably coming from Felicity's room.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the slow update. So this takes up immediately after the last Chapter. An incapacitated Oliver responds to Felicity's scream in the Mansion during the Blackout.**

The Dark of Night 4

Oliver's stomach was in his chest at the sound of Felicity's scream coming from next door. Security had been tightened recently so the logical part of his brain told him that there could be no intruder but his heart wouldn't be satisfied until he saw for himself. He didn't take the time to find the second crutch, he just hobbled as fast as he could towards the room next door in the dark.

Oliver burst in through the guest bedroom's door and flew to the side of Felicity's bed. He spotted no intruder but the only light was from the moon coming in through the open curtains. He approached Felicity hesitantly. She was no longer screaming but her body was flailing wildly over the bed, her back arching upwards but her eyes still clamped shut.

"Shh Felicity. It's ok," Oliver whispered, realizing she was still asleep. He sat on the edge of the bed. His hand found hers and he gripped in firmly. Her body continued to wildly roll around, whimpers escaping her lips. Oliver was worried that she would hurt herself. He leant over her body and tried to shush her again. "Felicity. It's Oliver. Wake up." Felicity movements slowed at the sound of his voice but she didn't wake. Her hair had become matted to the cold sweat on her face and he reached up to brush the few strands from her face. "It's ok," he tried again. "You're safe." Her body stopped convulsing and he noticed her breathing rhythm change. "You're having a nightmare. Listen to my voice and come back. Try to open your eyes."

Oliver could see Felicity's eyelids fluttering even in the low light of the room. Slowly she managed to drag her lids open. "Oliver?" Felicity asked with surprise but not fear. Normally being unexpectedly woken from a deep sleep in the dark would be startling but somehow the sound of his voice penetrated her nightmare and soothed her. "Are you ok?"

Oliver laughed quietly at her concern for him. "Yeah I'm fine. I just heard you having a making noise. You were obviously dreaming. It was difficult to wake you."

"I'm so sorry I disturbed you Oliver. I hope I didn't wake Thea." Felicity realized that Oliver was bend across and if she wasn't so embarrassed, she would enjoy this intimacy.

"A tornado wouldn't wake Thea," he laughed. "And you didn't disturb you. I was just worried something was wrong."

A silence fell between them in the dark as they both recognized how close their bodies were together, Oliver still leant over Felicity's chest. "It was just a nightmare."

"You want to talk about it?" Oliver didn't make a move away from his position hovering over her form in the bed.

"I know it might sound childish but the last few months I've been leaving a lamp on in my room but I didn't want to leave the candle going and risk burning down your house so I guess my mind was just playing mean tricks on me in a strange house and a strange bed."

Oliver leant back away from Felicity slightly and she realized she missed the warmth coming from him. He got up and walked to the wardrobe in the corner of the room. "I bet you didn't know this was our old Nanny's room. And if I'm right there still might be…" Oliver crouched down in the cupboard, "…aha! Here it is." Felicity noticed the small orb of dim light in Oliver's hand. "It's a battery powered globe. Raisa used to sit next to my bed and tell me all the countries of the world on this small globe as I fell asleep and she would make up storied about them all. It's not much light but it's better than nothing."

Felicity sat up on her elbow in the bed and took the orb from Oliver. "Thank you. It's really pretty actually." Felicity turned it around in her hands for a moment before placing the orb on her bedside locker.

"Do you want me to get you a hot chocolate or some chamomile tea or something to help you sleep?"

"No thanks Oliver. Sorry to bother you again."

"You never bother me Felicity." Oliver stood silently in the middle of the bedroom watching the way the light from the globe lit up Felicity's eyes. He always thinks she has the gentlest eyes. "I'll leave you rest. Let me know if you need anything."

"Sure. Thanks," Felicity replied.

As Oliver approached the bedroom door to leave he looked to see her take the globe in her hands and twirl it. "Do you want me to stay for a bit?" Oliver hoped he was not overstepping a boundary here as it took Felicity a few moments to answer.

Felicity's brain froze at Oliver's offer to stay in her room but she didn't want to be alone. "Yeah I'd like that thanks." Felicity was surprised that she didn't ramble or make an innuendo as she was so prone to doing.

Oliver looked around the room, first at a chair in the corner and then at a trunk at the end of the bed. His decision where to sit was decided for him when he saw Felicity move over towards the far end of the bed. "You'll never manage to sleep on that chair Oliver. This bed is huge. I promise to keep my hands to myself."

Felicity heard Oliver snicker in the dark. He approached the bed cautiously and then pulled back the duvet to occupy the warm spot that Felicity had just vacated. He rolled on his side to look at her to see that she was mirroring his position. There was a good two feet between them but he still felt his heart-rate skyrocket. How was it that this woman had come so unexpectedly into his life and infiltrated his emotions without him even realizing it was happening? He had been willing to admit he cared about her but subconsciously he knew it was more than just that. Oliver couldn't help but admit to himself how beautiful she looked in the glimmer of the light from the globe. She was glowing in the bed next to him and he couldn't help but be affected.

"You get some sleep now. I'm not going anywhere," Oliver assured.

"Night Oliver," Felicity said, rolling onto her back. Oliver rolled to stair at the ceiling also, the light making shapes on the ceiling.

After ten minutes Oliver thought maybe Felicity had managed to fall back asleep until he heard a faint sniff. He looked over to see the light bounce off a tear on her cheek. He knew she was trying to cry silently and he didn't want to embarrass her but he had an overwhelming need to comfort her.

"Come here," Oliver whispered to her as he held the duvet up in invitation. Felicity didn't need any explanation. With only a brief hesitation, she closed the space between them and moved closer to him. Oliver kept his arm up until she was nestled against his side. He pulled her in closer until her head came to rest on his chest. It took him a few seconds to figure out where he should put his arm so as not to be too forward. He settled on placing his hand on her upper arm. It was then that he noticed that she was only wearing a strapless pajama top and when her body rested next to his, he noted she only had short pajama pants on too. He tried not to think too much about the soft flesh flush with his body right now and what it wasn't doing to him.

Felicity's mind was trying not to overthink the fact that she was snuggled next to her boss right now. Her admittedly hot boss that she harbored complex feelings about. And he wore nothing but a pair of sweatpants. Her head nuzzled soothingly into the warmth of his chest. One hand was tucked in under herself but her other hand hovered in the dark before deciding she may as well put both feet in and rested it over Oliver's chest. She had touched his chest only in emergency situations and she longed to trace her fingers alone the blemished flesh on his toned chest. His scars didn't bother her, other than obviously upsetting her with images of how he might have got them. They were part of him and she accepted the whole man the way he was.

A few minutes passed before Oliver spoke again. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? It might help."

"Do you speak to anyone about your nightmares? You must have nightmares after what you went through," Felicity spoke quietly in the darkened room.

Oliver hesitated before saying, "No I don't. But maybe I should."

"You know I would never push you to talk about the island if you don't want to but…well I'll always be here if you need to talk. Well maybe not exactly here in your house against your chest…you know what I mean. I can listen if you ever need to talk."

"Thank you Felicity," Oliver said, giving her arm a grateful rub. "So do you want to tell me what the nightmare was about or would you like me to shut up and leave you alone?"

Felicity giggled into his chest. "It's more than one nightmare. For a while it was ending up in prison for the rest of my life for aiding and abetting a vigilante. Then it moved to the exponentially more scary nightmare of being trapped under Verdant the night of the earthquake, the ceiling coming down around my ears. But recently…" Felicity hesitated. She didn't want Oliver to feel even more guilty than he already did about putting her in danger.

"Is it the Count?"

Felicity felt tears come to her eyes again. "I just feel his hands running through my hair and down my neck and arms. I just hear him whispering threats in my ear. I just can't get it out of my head. I know I should just be grateful I'm ok and forget about it but sleeping Felicity doesn't seem to be able to forget."

"I'm sorry Felicity…"

"Don't you dare apologize. You saved me Oliver and that's all that matters." Felicity lifted her head for a moment to look him in the eye. She had to put her head back down to avoid the intense look in his eyes.

"What did he say to you? I mean when you two were alone."

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter. Maybe keeping it bottled up is making your nightmares so much more vivid. You were physically fighting off an invisible attacker in your sleep earlier when I came into the room."

Oliver thought he felt a silent tear roll off her cheek onto his chest. "Ok but I'm telling you only because you saved me and I'm ok so please don't think too much about it."

"Ok," Oliver's voice was low and reassuring.

"I know he was just trying to scare me but he said maybe he'd just shoot you somewhere nonfatal to keep you alive long enough so that you could see him…"

"What Felicity?" Oliver didn't want to probe as bile was already rising in his throat but he felt she needed to say it.

"So that you could see him have me right there on the floor of your own office before you died." Felicity didn't need to elaborate any further on the meaning of her words as Oliver's arm tightened around her. His second arm came to envelope her fully and she allowed hot tears to shed freely. A small sob escaped her throat and she felt Oliver's fingers grip into her flesh. Oliver buried his face in her hair and tried to level his breathing.

A furious need to beat something built up inside Oliver. Whether the Count was just trying to scare Felicity or whether he would actually do that to her didn't matter. He was a monster and he couldn't imagine how terrified Felicity must have been.

"Felicity," the word fell from his lips but he didn't really know what to say. "It's a good job he's dead or I'd have to break into Iron Heights and beat him to death with my own hands right now. A arrow to the chest was too good for him."

Felicity wiped away tears from her face and had to admit it did feel good to get this off her chest. "Whenever I fall asleep I just see imagines of him on top of me and I can't block it out."

"I am so sorry Felicity. I promise to not let anyone hurt you again."

"That's a big promise to make and I think it's a little unrealistic to think that something bad won't happen to me again."

"Well I'll just do my best to keep it then."

"Thank you Oliver."

Oliver held Felicity tight against his chest for a long time until he felt all her tears were shed and her breathing was calming. He gently stroked the side of her face, wiping away the last of her tears. Felicity lifted her head to stare at him. Without overthinking it too much, Felicity leant up and placed a kiss to Oliver's cheek. In this light she was slightly off target and it was more the edge of his lip she caught. She stiffened when she realized what she had done and quickly withdrew, nestling her face back in his chest. Oliver continued to stroke her cheek delicately and placed a kiss to the top of her head. After a while her breathing evened out and he realized she was asleep.

As he lay there listening to her even breaths- more restful now that earlier- he thought back over what she had told him. It terrified him to think that she could have been violated by that man but he was so thankful that she was safe with him now. After a long time trying to calm his anger, Oliver too fell asleep.

Diggle arrived at the mansion the next morning to pick up Oliver and Felicity for work. He knocked on Oliver's door and when he got no answer he went back downstairs and found Thea.

"Ms. Queen. Have you seen your brother?"

"Did you check in his room?" Thea said, a spoonful of cereal in her mouth.

"I didn't go in but he wasn't answering."

"That's not like him. He's always up at the dawn. Come on- we'll go wake sleepy head up."

Diggle stood back cautiously as Thea knocked once and then barged into her brother's room. "Don't worry he has a lock if he was doing anything he doesn't want me to see," Thea said back to Diggle. Thea looked around the room and saw the bathroom door open and in the dark. "Hmm. Doesn't look like he's here." A cheeky smile erupted across her face. "But I think I know where to find him."

Diggle followed behind the younger Queen and thought he heard her mutter under her breath something along the lines of 'Friends- my ass!'

Thea knocked on the guest room door next to Oliver, a huge grin on her face. "Your lift for work is here."

Realization dawned on Dig that this must be Felicity's room. _'No. Surely not! I know that they both have huge unresolved feelings for each other but I didn't think they had realized it themselves yet.'_ He heard murmuring and rummaging in the room before a rather bashful look Oliver (if he could ever be described as such) answered the door, leaning on one crutch.

He looked between the huge grin on his sister's face and the look of shock on Diggle's face. "It's not what it looks like," he stated.

"Sure it isn't bro," Thea said, patting him on the arm and walking away.

When Thea was out of earshot he whispered, "I think we need to have a little talk," before pulling a sheepish (and still shirtless) Oliver away by the elbow towards his own room.

**So what do you guys think? Thank you for the continued support.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry again for the slow update. I wasn't overly happy with this chapter but hope it'll come together soon. There's some small sexual references in this chapter so be warned.**

The Dark of Night 5

Oliver hobbled on his crutch behind Diggle into his bedroom. Diggle remained silent until he slammed his bedroom door behind him. He spun on the spot and gave Oliver his best big brother look.

"So what the Hell was that about?" Diggle asked, trying to suppress a slightly bemused grin.

"Felicity was having a nightmare. I was just checking on her. That's all!" Oliver stated, planting himself on the edge of the bed to take the weight off his injured leg.

"Aha? A nightmare?" Diggle crossed his muscular arms across his chest.

"Yeah I heard her making noise and I was just checking on her." Oliver itched at the skin just on the top of his cast.

"And what time was that at Oliver?" Diggle paced the room and opened the thick curtains to let more light in.

"Em… maybe three or four am. I'm not sure."

"You're not sure. And it was a nightmare? Oliver you're going to have to come up with better excuses than that."

"It's not an excuse."

"Oliver there's obviously some unresolved… tension… between you two."

Oliver interrupted Diggle's sentence. "There's no tension between us."

"Oliver I'm not blind or stupid. The long lingering looks. The fact that you take every opportunity to touch her. The excuses you make so that she spends even more time with you than she already does double jobbing it for you."

"What excuses?"

"_Oh Felicity. I'd love it if you helped me pick out something nice for Thea's birthday online. You have such great taste. Maybe we could recommend some things to me over dinner," _Diggle mimicked Oliver_._

"That wasn't an excuse. I wanted her help shopping for my sister's birthday. So what?!" Oliver said defensively.

"You used that line three times in the last month and Felicity never pulled you up on it even when she had already spend seventy plus hours in your company each week. How about _'Felicity could you show me how to use this calendar app on my computer?''_ Ok Oliver had to admit he was caught out on this one. Last week he had erased half his meetings from his calendar so Felicity came in to help. She leant across him as he sat at the computer and he caught the scent of her. An aroma that he was now beginning to identify as uniquely Felicity. She was wearing that grey dress again- the one that he had to try to his best to suppress his normal male urges when she was in it. While she worked across him her legs pressed against his and Oliver closed his eyes briefly to inhale her scent. Felicity didn't see him but when he opened his eyes, he realized Diggle had.

"It's a complicated calendar. I'm not good with IT. I was away for five years and technology changes," Oliver protested.

"Don't think I didn't see you lean in closer to her while she was showing you how to do it. And you asked her two days later to show you again."

He had to put his hands up at this one. "That's because I wasn't really paying attention the first time." Oliver tried flashing Dig his playboy smile but it would never work on him.

"Do you think this is a joke Oliver?" Diggle walked towards where he sat and lowered his voice. "Look Felicity has obviously had a little crush on you in the past."

"Maybe in the past but not now. A woman like Felicity is sure to have a string of men chasing after her. She has a lot more of a choice than someone as damaged and moody as me."

"Well seeing as she spends almost twenty four seven with you I think it's unlikely she sees it that way. And it's hardly like anyone form QC would dare ask her out since they all think she's sleeping with the CEO." Oliver opened his mouth to protest. "Don't deny it. I've sat in the coffee shop in QC enough to know you guys are always a hot topic of conversation."

"I don't want Felicity to be alone. I'd love her to be happy." Oliver's voice softened immensely at the thought of Felicity maybe being lonely because of him.

"And if you can make her happy, go right ahead."

"Dig nothing is going on between us."

"Alright. Keep telling yourself that. But I'll have you know that I spend a huge amount of time with you two and I know there's more than you're admitting. And if you think you can make her happy, I give you my blessing. But if you don't think you can, please don't string her along."

"I didn't think I was," Oliver sounded crestfallen.

"Then why were you all night in her room comforting her?"

"She had a nightmare. It was a bad one about the Count."

Diggle walked close enough so that Oliver could hear his lowered voice. "And the Count is another thing. Not that I have any problem with you killing him since he was going to hurt Felicity but only weeks previously you let the Dollmaker live even though he was holding Laurel- at one time the love of your life. You didn't seem to hesitate when it came to Felicity." Diggle turned to leave. Oliver knew he was right and that he cared about Felicity more than he even let on to himself. "I'll meet you two downstairs in fifteen Oliver."

"Dig?" Oliver said. Diggle turned back towards him. What he wanted to ask him was whether he thought Felicity really had feelings for him. He wanted to ask him whether he thought there could be something real between them. He almost wanted Diggle's permission to explore this further but instead all the came out was, "Make it thirty minutes. I'm not as mobile as I used to be."

When Oliver made it down the stairs, rather ungracefully on his crutches, he saw Diggle and Felicity standing in silence. Felicity looked to be intensively examining something on her tablet but Oliver wondered if they had either had a similar chat as he and Diggle had eaerlier, or whether they were out-rightly ignoring the elephant in the room altogether.

When they heard him bang down the last step, Felicity shot him a brief shy smile before gathering her things and following Dig to the car. When she heard Oliver struggling with his briefcase and trying to balance, she moved towards him and grabbed the case. "You only have to ask for help Oliver." As she was steadying him, their hands brushed together for a moment. Oliver thought he noticed a faint blush creep up Felicity's face.

Oliver shot her a warm smile. "Thank you. Would I be able to have a quiet word with you later when we get to the office? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Sure. No problem." Felicity's mouth said 'no problem' but her brain was screaming. Why did Oliver want to speak to her privately? Had she overstepped the mark last night, spending the night snuggled into his side? She had woken first this morning but didn't bother to check the time or worry about getting up for work. She was enjoying the intimacy that she had lacked for so long. Her leg had become curled around his in her sleep and one arm lay across his abdomen. Oliver's two arms were still holding her tight into his bare chest and she suspected from his breathing that he was still sleeping. From the light coming through the curtains she knew it was time they should be getting up. She also knew that Oliver was always awake alot earlier than this. She would often see the time stamp on emails he would send her and they always started around 5am.

While Felicity continued to nuzzle into his side she felt him shift slightly in his sleep and realized that the slight change in position wound her leg further around his. Felicity knew that her leg was in a dangerous position as she could feel evidence of Oliver's morning arousal against her knee. She knew this was a perfectly normal occurrence for healthy men in the morning but she couldn't help the spark of excitement in sent straight through her. She knew she should move her leg but she figured what was the harm in enjoying the feel of his impressive manhood against her thigh.

Oliver woke moments later feeling refreshed. He didn't often sleep for more than a few hours in a row. He looked down at the beautiful blond curls spilled out over his chest. He couldn't see Felicity's face but after a few moments of admiring how her slender figure was warmly wrapped around him, he realised her leg was in a very dangerous position. _'Oh God,' _Oliver thought. _'Relax and it'll go down before she wakes up.'_ The problem was the more he tried not to think about it, the more all he could image was Felicity in other circumstances on top of him, straddling him in the throes of passion. He tried not to think of her like that though all he could think about is he bets she isn't quiet in bed. Why did he just think that? Oh dear God he thinks maybe he was getting more aroused. He tried to shift his body slightly but this only brought her leg more in contact with him.

Oliver was staying as still as possible when he heard his sister's voice outside the door. Was she talking to… oh no Diggle? There was nothing like your sister's voice to dampen any further arousal and Oliver jumped up quickly, Felicity's body reacting quickly also. He sat for a few seconds trying to find his crutch and taking deep breaths, hoping that his loose sweat pants hid in remaining evidence of his arousal by the time he got to the door.

The morning in the office went painfully slowly and Felicity waited for a break in meetings to try to have that quiet chat with Oliver. It wasn't that she looked forward to it but she did want it over.

When Oliver was free he looked out to see Felicity walk towards his desk, the office door swinging closed behind her.

"Felicity I just wanted to…"

"Oliver I wanted…" They both started at once and then laughed, Felicity's eyes downcast now.

"Sorry. Felicity I wanted to apologise for last night," Oliver said rising from his desk.

Felicity looked confused. "Apologise? For what?"

"It wasn't appropriate for me to offer to stay with you. I'm glad we talked but I feel I shouldn't have… I mean it's not what friends and colleagues usually do." Oliver really wanted to say to her that he enjoyed the feeling of waking up next to her. He wanted to say that everything would be ok and that maybe they could explore if there was anything between them. But he couldn't. He was right when he said he couldn't be with someone he cared about. He loved spending time with Felicity and he was worried that if he didn't address it now, his feelings would grow even further. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't give Felicity what he thought she deserved. He could only give her an angry, broken man and she deserved better.

"I wanted you to stay. I…" Felicity was going to say she needed him but the look in his eyes told her that he needed to put that distance between them. She would love to have thought that this was because he didn't dare to feel something for her but anxiously she thought it was because he didn't feel something for her at all. Not in that way. "I understand."

There really wasn't any more to say. Both Oliver and Felicity were in a place right now where they couldn't see how good they could be for each other. So they would try to go back to the way things were- as friends and colleagues.

**I have a plan where this will go and it won't drag out too long but where would you guys like it to go? Please let me know if the reviews.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm quite happy with this Chapter. After this week's midseason finale, I'm partially following the storyline again.**

The Dark of Night Chapter 6

Slade Wilson sat in his office overlooking Starling City. The sun was starting to descend in the sky and he watched out his window as the street lights started to blink on all over the city. He remembered when he had first returned from Lian Yu that this was a sight that he loved to see. He remembered the island at night in inescapable darkness at night. Sometimes when there was a full moon and no clouds, light would reflect down but mostly when he turned off his torch at night the night became like a thick smothering darkness.

It was worse when he was alone on the island. When he met Oliver (even though he initially didn't trust him), it was at least company. He had more to listen to that his own breathing in the darkness. And then Shado had come into his life and even though she had foolishly taken up with Oliver, she brought brightness to his life. Her eyes were often sad, mourning her father, but when she smiled, it lit up her face.

And then Oliver took her away from him, he thought. Slade believed Oliver had chosen to save Sara over Shado and allowed Ivo to shoot her mercilessly in the head. He remembers every day the feel of her limp body in his arms. He wanted Oliver to have to feel that some day soon.

Blood entered the room to interrupt Slade's musings. "Sir?'

"Come in. What news have you on Ms. Lance?" Slade asked, turning his back to the window overlooking the dusk landscape.

"Well sir as you know I have befriended her and I think I have her trust. She still holds so much ire towards the Arrow so I think we should have no problem using her to draw him out." Blood sat down on the plush leather couch in the office, brushing a speck of dust from his pristine suit. "What has Laurel to do with the Arrow anyway? Why would she mean anything to him?"

"That's not important," Slade thick accent and baritone cadences resonated in the large sparse office, sending hidden chills down Blood's spine. "And there's been a change of plan. From what you've told me Ms. Lance probably won't willingly go ahead with this plan to destroy the Arrow so we need to try another tactic."

"Which is?"

"Which is you get her to a certain location, we drug her, and use her as bait."

"But sir? A little bit more time and she'll come around."

"We don't have time to be messing around here. Maybe she won't ever go along with our plan. I want to have this plan sorted for the first anniversary of the earthquake next week. So just do as I say!"

Blood was going to protest again but he knew better. He had seen his boss kill for less. "Yes sir."

"And there's another complication too Blood." Slade walked towards Blood.

"Yes?"

"We need another girl too. My plan won't work without her," Slade said, a cold smirk forming on his face.

Slade had been watching her for months now. Earlier in the year he had seen a picture of Oliver at a gala in the gossip pages of the Starling City Gazette. He was photographed dancing with an attractive blonde during the event. The message under the picture read: 'Has Oliver Queen found love with his assistant? Anonymous sources say he and his attractive friend spend alot of time together.' At first Slade didn't pay too much attention to it because he knew Oliver's personal life was always splashed over the papers and a one-shot picture didn't tell much. But the picture had gotten to him. He looked at it again and again. He could see Oliver's face in the picture clearly. He was smiling warmly and his hands rested comfortably on the girls lower back. Her two hands settled high up on his shoulders, almost caressing his neck. That look on his face- it was one of calm, something that didn't appear on Oliver's face often.

Slade contacted his inside source in QC who informed him that rumour was that Oliver had indeed been dating his assistant for some time. This intrigued Slade. Was there more to this than just rumours?

Slade began to cautiously follow Oliver in a blacked out car. It seemed that everywhere he went so did this pretty blonde. Slade began to almost enjoy watching them. They would share fries in a diner, walk to a local coffee shop near the company, often share lifts to and from work and to Oliver's club. Slade could only assume that this club was a front for his Arrow operations. He enjoyed watching this cheery blonde with her bouncing pony-tails, cute dresses and wide eyes. She intrigued him.

It was however one event that cemented his suspicions. His side-kick Diggle was injured while fighting one of Blood's men during a robbery on a medical supply vehicle. He was seriously injured and in hospital. Slade paid off a security guard to get CCTV footage from the floor he was being held on. Originally he wanted the footage to formulate a plan to send in somebody to finish the job. However what he saw put a new more cunning plan in his head.

Slade watched on the CCTV as Oliver stood outside his friend's room, his arms wrapped around the pretty blonde. Her head was buried in the crook of his neck, her sobs obvious even on the poor quality footage. It could just have been construed as a comfort hug between friends except the way Oliver buried his face in her hair almost inhaling her and the way his arms tightened around her protectively, he was in no doubt that Oliver was in love. Maybe he didn't even realize it himself yet but Slade knew. He knew because this was the way he felt about Shado and Oliver's feelings were obvious.

After this Slade decided he wanted to meet this girl that had found her way into the heart of Oliver Queen. He tracked her for a few days and when he was acquainted with her routine, he waited in her local coffee shop. She didn't go there every morning but he saw her pop in there several mornings a week and get three coffees before being picked up by Oliver's driver Diggle. The first morning he sat in the corner but she did not show. The second morning he was sipping hot sweet tea when he saw her. She had just ordered and he could see with his good eye her name being written on her cup order- Felicity!

He knew her name obviously. But seeing it written down made it more real. If he wanted to destroy Oliver, he would have to tear everything that made him happy away from him. It was March then and he decided that his plan needed to be in place in the next few months so that he could make his revenge all the more sweet by exacting it on the anniversary of the earthquake that Oliver failed to stop. He walked up towards where she stood waiting. "Excuse me miss. I'm just leaving if you want my seat," Slade said with a smile.

She turned towards him and returned his smile. "Oh no thank you. I'm getting takeout. But thanks anyway." He had to stop himself for developing a fondness for this girl since what he had in store for her soon would permanently wipe her sweet smile from her face

He watched them often from the safety of his darkened car. He saw the way Felicity would make him laugh when they were together. He seemed a lighter man than he remembered. He almost felt bad about what he was going to do. Only almost though! He would avenge Shado's death if it were the last thing he did.

Felicity was having a long hot shower after a particularly long fourteen hour day. They had been working especially hard the last few weeks and she knew Oliver was trying to keep distracted in the run-up to the anniversary of the fall of the Glades. She ran her hands through her hair, massaging her scalp to try to relieve some of the tension accumulated during a regular day as being Executive assistant slash vigilante tech genius. Diggle had sustained a wound to his leg tonight. It was a very small wound that didn't even require sutures but Felicity fussed over him nonetheless. Since they had nearly lost him a few months previously, she had been even more worried when her two men were out at night. Oliver had calmed her by rubbing soothing circles in the back of her head with his thumb as his strong hand caressed her head. They had definitely cut back on all the small touches between them since that night in January when Oliver's leg was broken and they had shared a bed. But slowly it seemed it re-emerge like they were magnetically attracted. It was only ever small touches, except for that night in the hospital. As Felicity rubbed the spot on her scalp that Oliver had held earlier, she remembered clearly that night.

Diggle had been seriously injured and was in intensive care. Felicity had been standing in the door of Dig's room. He was connected to monitors and the tube from his throat had just been removed. Oliver approached her from behind with his usually stealthy silence.

"Why are you standing in the doorway Felicity?" Oliver asked tenderly. Oliver had been talking with Leyla on the phone keeping her up to date the last ten minutes.

"They just took out his tube and are cutting back his sedation," Felicity said, biting her thumb-nail.

"That's good news, right?" Oliver asked, standing side by side with Felicity.

"Yeah I think so. The doctor said we just have to wait to see if he'll wake up now."

Oliver knew there was nothing he could say to alleviate Felicity's worry. They just had to be patient and wait to see if Diggle came around. Instead of saying falsely reassuring words he put his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. After only a few seconds hesitation, Felicity allowed herself to relax into his side. After what must have been ten minutes of silence Oliver added, "That doesn't explain why we're standing in the doorway and not in the actual room."

Felicity sniffed back some tears. "I guess it's just less real if I stand here. I feel like if I sit down next to his bed and hold his hand I'm acknowledging that he is…. I don't know. I'm being silly."

"You're not being silly at all," Oliver angled his head to look down at where Felicity rested against his shoulder.

"What will we do if he doesn't make it?" Felicity said, fighting back a sob.

Oliver turned quickly so that his face was now only inches from Felicity's. He could feel her rapid exhaled breaths against his lips. He searched her face and saw the fear present. He wondered if this was the look she had in her eyes when he was in danger. His hands raised up to brace her shoulders. "Diggle is strong. If anyone can fight, he can." His eyes flitted from her eyes down to her lips where she had trapped her bottom lip between her teeth. Oliver was afraid if he didn't look away soon, he might not be able to prevent himself from lowering his lips to hers. He decided to pull her in towards his chest. He held her against him like she was his lifeline. He could hear the thrumming of her heartbeat against her ribcage. Her delicate frame seemed to fit perfectly into the expanse of his arms.

Oliver moved his arms to her low back and rubbed her through the thin material of her dress. When her arms raised to surround his neck and her face nestled into his neck, his breath caught and his hands involuntarily tightened around her. After an unknown amount of time they parted. When Felicity pulled back she didn't move back very far. She looked up once again into his eyes, a depth in his eyes that she longed to see into. As she stared at him she realised that he didn't blink or try to break the stare between them. Felicity tried to calm her heartbeat when she saw Oliver tentatively move closer to her until his lips ghosted over hers. His lips were just about to reach their target when they heard a throat clearing in the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you guys but I don't know how long I've been unconscious but I seriously need to pee." Diggle's hoarse voice was like the greatest symphony to their ears and Felicity broke from their embrace to sprint to Diggle's bedside.

Later that night when Oliver was gone for coffee, Diggle had apologized to Felicity for interrupting. She had brushed it off and said nothing was going on but Dig insisted on apologizing. "Anyway if he wants to kiss my adopted sister, he has to wine and dine her first. Or maybe I'm just old fashioned," Dig had said patting her hand. Oliver and her had not spoken about the near kiss after and she figured he regretted it.

When Felicity got out of the shower, she dressed in comfortable jeans and hoodie, intent on watching a little TV. That was what normal people did, right? She noticed a piece of paper had been passed under her door. It was a note from the super asking her to pop down. It was almost midnight but she knew her super was a night-owl and if he asked to see her, she knew better than to ignore him lest next time she needed her sink fixed he didn't oblige. She grabbed her phone and her keys, undid the latches on her door and turned her alarm off. As she walked down the corridor, the stairwell door opened with a bang and two large men burst through it, grabbing her each by an arm. She tried to scream and fight but a third man held a strong smelling rag over her mouth and she felt her limbs go limp before everything went dark.

What woke Felicity was the banging in her head. The steady pounding was exponentially worse than a hangover and her legs still felt hollow. With all her energy, she pried her eyelids open. The room was dimly lit and she lay on a hard cold floor. The cool metal of handcuffs against her skin was the next thing she noticed. She tried to move her head with great effort. When she looked to her right hand side she tried to adjust to the image before her. Crouched in front of her was a brunette on her knees looking at her. With a painfully dry throat she managed to utter two syllables. "Laurel?"

**Please drop a quick review to let me know if you like where this is going. There will be major Olicity feels in the next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you all so much for the fantastic response to the last Chapter. I love reading all your reviews.**

Dark Of Night Chapter 7

Diggle and Oliver had taken to collecting Felicity on the way to QC several mornings a week. It made sense since they were often going to the same place and at the same times, they passed her apartment on the way and they didn't like her driving around the Glades at night after Arrow business. Felicity initially put up a small protest but she was won over when Oliver looked at her with his soulful eyes and told her he liked picking her up. So over time they more and more often picked her up on the way to work. Usually Oliver would text and she'd get Starling City's best coffee from a café next to her building for the three of them. They both silently realized that arriving to work together didn't help the rumors around QC about their relationship but they had learned that people were going to gossip no matter how they acted.

Oliver had grown to enjoy the car rides and looked forward to this time with Felicity where it wasn't QC or Arrow related business. They were just two people chatting about normal things for a few car journeys a week. It was like the car was their little sanctuary away from all their other activities.

He was going to apologize to Felicity today about being even more mopey than usual recently. It was coming up to the anniversary of the earthquake and Tommy's death (among many deaths), and he felt he had been snapping at her more recently. Felicity was no shrinking violet and well able to give as good as she got when he got like this but the last few weeks she had been letting him away with it- just leaving him alone when he got too cranky and bringing him a peace-offering of a coffee in his office when she saw him hunched over endless documents, a furrow deep in his brow.

"Did you text Felicity to get me an extra shot of espresso in my coffee this morning? These last few weeks have been tiring!" Diggle shouted back from his position in the driver's seat to where Oliver sat in the back.

"You're just getting old Dig," Oliver joked.

"Haha. Very funny." Diggle turned the corner to her street.

"Actually I texted her last night to tell her we'd pick her up and again this morning and haven't heard back but I do remember seeing her charger plugged in next to her computer in the foundry so maybe her phone died and she didn't have her charger at home." Oliver tried to hide the slight hint of worry that lay behind his words. When she didn't return his text last night he figured she had gone to bed and when he didn't hear back from his text ten minutes ago, he thought she might just be in the shower but it didn't stop the small niggle of anxiety that he always felt for Felicity because of the line of work they were in.

When they reached the front of Felicity's building Oliver hopped out. "Sure I'll run up since her phone might be out of action," he said to Dig before ascending the front steps.

Oliver knocked on Felicity's door for a few minutes but there was no answer. Oliver's anxiety levels started to soar. He rang her phone and was relieved to hear it ring until he realized the familiar ring-tone he heard wasn't coming from behind her apartment door. He followed the faint sound down the corridor until he reached the stairwell entrance. He pushed the door open cautiously, fearful of what he would find. When he opened the door a crack he found Felicity's phone ringing and vibrating on the ground. He picked it up and saw his missed text messages unread on the screen.

A surge of panic rose up in Oliver. He didn't have time to go looking for her key on his key ring or care what her neighbors thought, he just kicked at her door. On the second kick it burst open, a little too easily as he knew Felicity dead-bolted it when she was inside. He was so hoping to find a sleeping Felicity on the couch who would give him an ear-full for breaking down her door. Instead what he saw made all the blood drain from his face.

"Slade?" Oliver's eyes widened as he took in the figure of Slade Wilson, an eye patch over his right eye.

"Hello old friend. It's been too long," Slade Wilson's low voice resonated throughout the living room of Felicity's apartment. Oliver's eyes quickly snapped around the room to see if there was any sign of her but the two appeared to be alone.

"You can't be here. I watched you die," Oliver tried to hide the slight shake in his voice. It was as if standing in front of Slade turned him back into the scared boy that he was when they first met on the island. "Where is Felicity?"

"Aren't you going to ask me how I'm not dead?"

"That'll be my first question as soon as you tell me where Felicity is?" Oliver's fear was quickly turning to anger but he didn't want Slade to detect his emotions.

"Oh don't worry Oliver. I've put her somewhere safe for now," Slade's voice was mocking.

"If you've hurt her I'll…" Oliver took a step toward Slade but stopped when Slade raised a hand towards him.

"You'll what? You'll fight me? You'll kill me? I know you're not that stupid Oliver. Looks like women are still making a fool of you. You never did think clearly where pretty women were concerned." Oliver wanted to punch the sickening grin off Slade's face but he needed to be cautious until he figured out where Felicity was.

"What do you want?" Oliver tried to contain the vitriol in his voice. He was speaking to a ghost. Maybe he was hallucinating? But that wouldn't explain where Felicity was.

"All in good time Oliver. You're so impatient."

"How did you survive?" Oliver tried.

"Oh now you want to know?!" Slade's voice became angry. "It doesn't matter how I survived. Let's just say I've been through hell and back. And I want you to know how that feels!"

Oliver tried to hide the dread in his voice. "Felicity is nothing to do with this. Take me and let her go and we can talk then. I'll give you anything you want."

"Are you trying to bribe me? Pay a ransom for your little friend? I have more than enough money. In fact I'm a man of means now." Count Vertigo's words about a 'man of means' echoed in his ears and he wondered if there was a link.

"She's just my assistant Slade," Oliver lied. "She is of no use to you."

"Oh she can be of plenty of use to me," Slade said with a devious smile. Oliver had to stop himself from springing forward and wringing his neck. "Now inject this into your arm and when you wake up, I'll let you see that pretty little girl of yours again." Slade threw him a needle and syringe.

"Shado…" Oliver started but was cut off by Slade's roar.

"Don't you dare utter her name!" Slade's face contorted in disgust.

Oliver looked between the syringe and Slade's sadistic facial expression and realized he had no choice. He had to find Felicity before Slade hurt her. Oliver uncapped the needle and gave Slade one last cold hard stare before thrusting it into the muscles of his upper arm. As his vision narrowed and he started to black out he heard Slade's voice. "And if you think your_ driver_ is going to help you, I have a very effective gaseous sedative making it's way into the ventilation system of his car so he's going to wake up after a nice little sleep all confused in a couple of hours."

Laurel helped Felicity up to a seated position on the cold hard floor. Felicity felt like her skull was going to split in two and her eyes were having difficulty focusing. She reached up to adjust glasses that were absent from her nose. Laurel detected her discomfort. "Yeah whatever they gave us sure gives you a cracking headache."

"Laurel?" Felicity repeated, a smoggy feeling reeling in her head. "How did you get here?"

"I was walking to my car when a rag was put over my mouth. I think there were three men. Wow I'm beginning to feel like I've got a little dose of damsel-in-distress syndrome the number of times I've been kidnapped before." Felicity could tell that Laurel was trying to keep their spirits up but her eyes betrayed her abject terror at their current situation. "I woke up maybe an hour before you and you were already lying on the floor next to me."

"I remember three men too. Why have they taken us both?" Even as Felicity spoke she knew exactly what the common denominator was between them.

Laurel probably suspected that Oliver was the tie between them but being a good lawyer, she tried thinking of all avenues. "My Dad said you have been helpful in a few cases over the past year or so. Could any of those be linked to anything I'm working on in the DA's office?"

Felicity was finding it hard to make coherent sentences, which was probably a good thing or she might end up babbling. She knew that there probably were cases the two of them had both worked on but it was hard to overlook the more obvious connection between them. "I don't think so. Are you injured?" Felicity just noticed a patch of blood on Laurel's arm. She leant forward to check it.

"It's just a scratch. I think it was when I struggled. I don't really remember."

"Look Laurel I know we don't know each other very well but I promise you we'll get out of here. I have a friend who will get us out."

"How can you be so sure?" Laurel asked. Laurel watched as Felicity hitched up the hem of her top to reveal a tiny scar on her low back.

Felicity lowered her voice. "Let's just say I am now glad that I was convinced to get this. I gave him hell when he suggested I get a tracker," Felicity whispered.

"He who?" Laurel asked curiously.

Felicity was considering how to respond when the heavy door to the room creaked open.

Laurel scurried closer to Felicity until they were both pressed up towards the wall. Felicity noticed that Laurel was still holding her hand since she had helped her up from lying on the ground. She felt her nails dig into her skin. Two guards walked in first followed by their presumed leader.

"Well hello ladies. I'm sorry for the inconvenience I've put you to but all will be explained soon," Slade said to the pair, his accent pronounced.

Felicity tried to recall what Dig had taught her if she was even abducted again. She looked around at possible weapons, escape routes, weak spots. Nothing was apparent as the two large guards both had automatic rifles and stood at least a head above either of them. After a minute something occurred to Felicity. "Wait! I know you. You offered me a seat in the coffee shop. I thought you seemed nice," Felicity said, sitting forward and saw the pleased look on his face. "I obviously am not a good judge of character."

Felicity saw Slade move towards her quickly and she flinched as she thought he might hit her. Instead he took her chin in his hand and spoke in low tones. "Well from the company you keep, you obviously are a poor judge of character." If there was any doubt before, there certainly was not now that Oliver was the reason herself and Laurel were in this room. "And your boyfriend couldn't even protect you. I could be doing anything to you right now and he wouldn't be able to stop it. I don't think he's the man you think he is."

"He's a hundred times the man that holds two women prisoner in a cold room against their will," Felicity spat.

Slade sniggered and turned his attention to Laurel. He brought his face closer to hers. "So this is the famous Laurel Lance. I had to listen to that sap prattle on about you for so long." Laurel didn't seem to be paying too much attention to his words as she scanned the faces of the two rather unfriendly looking guards. Slade must have noticed as he looked up towards his two armed followers. "Oh don't worry about these two puppy dogs. I'm a gentleman and I've told them that any interfering with my guests is strictly frowned upon."

Laurel huffed a silent sigh of relief.

Felicity was piecing together that this man was somebody that Oliver knew from the island. She didn't know if Laurel believed that Oliver was alone for five years so she couldn't tell if she understood what significance he was to Oliver.

"Now!" Slade stood and pointed at the other door in their room that Felicity hadn't had time to notice until now. "I want you both to go shower- take any of that makeup or whatever you have on and change into the fresh clothes and underwear I put in there. I want you two to be visible in your naked beauty so that the choice won't be biased."

"Why?" Laurel asked.

"Who is in charge here?" Slade answered impatiently, taking a gun from one of his men to make his point. He yanked Laurel up by the arm and shoved her towards the bathroom. Laurel picked up one of the white cotton dresses that he had left by the bathroom door. "Now you have half an hour to shower quickly or shower together- I think I'll just imagine the latter- and be ready for show-time," Slade scoffed obviously pleased with himself.

"Can I ask is there a reason we need to wear these white dresses?" Felicity tried to seem like he was being submissive by asking his permission to ask a question.

"Good question my dear. Well I know it might seem dramatic to you- and I'm not usually one for theatrics- but when I shoot one of you through the heart, I want Oliver to see ever ounce of blood in your body pool out on those beautiful white dresses and know there is nothing he can do to save you."

**So sorry for ending on another cliffhanger. I was going to wrap up this part of the story in this chapter but I was having too much fun and it was getting a bit long so I just kept writing but wanted to update so you don't have to wait too long between chapters. I realized that a few people have had a similar idea to where I'm going but I hope you like my different take on this. Please drop a review if you have any ideas/suggestions. Thanks**


	8. Chapter 8

**I had so much fun writing this chapter that I had to get it up as quickly as possible so apologies for any spelling/grammatical errors. Hope you like the way I've death with this. This chapter is a bit longer than usual and I was going to split it in two but realized that would be cruel! Enjoy and drop a review if you like how it concluded.**

The Dark of Night 8

When the door had shut behind Slade, Laurel looked down to where Felicity still sat. Her mind was blank after Slade had said he was going to put a bullet in one of their hearts. "Do you think he was being serious?"

Felicity head was still so fuzzy from the sedative. "I don't think he looks like a man who jokes too much, do you?"

Laurel picked up the clean clothes and underwear from the chair near the bathroom door. "I suppose I should go take a shower like he said." Laurel did not know Felicity well and in fact had only met her on a handful of occasions with Oliver. She didn't know if her unfamiliarity was a help or a hindrance.

"Why should we do anything he asks?" Felicity's words weren't harsh but realistic.

"I suppose we need to keep on his good side until we can figure a way out of this."

"I suppose you're right Laurel. You go ahead first. My head has yet to stop spinning." As Laurel turned towards the bathroom Felicity put out a hand to stop her. "Wait Laurel. There are some things you don't know and if you find them because of this mad man, please don't hold it against ..." She wanted to say Oliver but settled for "…somebody you know."

Laurel looked confused. "What things?"

"It's not my place to say but I know he has cared about you for so long that he would never willingly do anything to hurt you. You have to know that." Felicity worried that finding out about Oliver's secret identity or maybe about Sara from Slade would be multiple times worse than hearing it from Oliver's mouth but she was afraid that some secrets might come to light soon.

Laurel wanted to question her further but she was tired and confused enough so settled for accepting what she was saying for the time being. Her mind was reeling but she didn't have the luxury to overthink things right now.

Right on time Slade's burly henchmen came and dragged the two women roughly from their cold cell. They were brought down long dusty corridors and Felicity tried to take in her surroundings to plan an escape. There were murky skylights in the ceiling but they were at least twenty feet overhead. After a labyrinth of corridors, they were pulled into an open warehouse floor.

They were pushed towards the middle of the warehouse. Two boxes were placed there and they were each made to sit on one. Slade stood a few feet from the boxes, a smug look on his face at his plan coming together.

"The dresses look good girls. Give me a twirl."

Laurel and Felicity looked to each other but neither of them moved.

"Or don't. Suit yourselves." Slade motioned to a door on his left. Three even larger men carried a struggling form in their arms that looked like hunters that had caught their dinner. The three men looked unnaturally strong as if they could carry the man in their arms by themselves but for extra security, chose to work together. Felicity wondered if they had been dosed with the _miracle_ serum.

Felicity's heart-rate skyrocketed as she realized the form they held, his upper body covered in a sack, was Oliver. They dropped him at Slade's feet roughly. As Slade pulled off the sack the three guards stood only feet away all pointing their weapons at Oliver. Felicity noted that Oliver's hands were cable tied behind his back. Thankfully he didn't look otherwise injured. Felicity tried to stay calm and not show any emotion that Slade could use as ammunition against Oliver.

When Oliver turned his face towards where they sat, a look of recognition erupted on Laurel's face. "Ollie?" She jumped up from the box but when she saw a guard point a gun at her, she froze. "What the hell is going on?"

Slade roughly pulled Oliver up to a standing position. "Now my friend here Oliver isn't going to try anything stupid because there are several big strong men pointing guns at the three of you who won't hesitate to fire. Isn't that right _Ollie_?" Slade said mockingly.

When Oliver fixed Slade with a murderous stare Slade took Oliver's chin in his hand and imitated a nodding movement.

"Good well then that's agreed. Be a good boy and I'll play fair."

Oliver's eyes caught Felicity's and she tried to convey in her eyes that they were ok and that he should just co-operate until they figured a way out. She gave him a small nod and tried to choke back threatened tears.

"Now girls, I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Slade and Ollie and I go way back." Slade put his arm around Oliver's shoulder like they were waiting to have their picture taken. "Don't the girls look lovely?" Slade said into Oliver's face. Slade caught Oliver's eye's flicking around the room looking for an escape. "Pay attention Oliver. Don't they look beautiful?" He again held Oliver's chin and pointed his face towards the girls.

Oliver looked to Laurel and saw tears streaming down her face. "Don't worry. Everything will be ok," he reassured and he saw her nod in response.

"Oh will it Oliver? But I haven't even told you the game yet. Don't go lying to your lady friends just yet. I know you're a monumental liar but don't give the poor girl false hope." Slade started pacing behind Oliver before looking at Laurel. "I nearly forgot that this one doesn't know most of your little secrets. I bet she'd like to hear some of them. Wouldn't you Miss Lance?"

Slade was taking a step towards Laurel when he heard Felicity's voice. "Why don't you tell us more about this plan of yours?" she challenged.

"Well aren't we getting impatient?" Slade changed his course and headed towards Felicity. She stood up from where she was seated on the box.

When he was eye-level with Felicity he looked her up and down. She didn't back down from his glare and puffed herself up as big as she could to stare him down. "I bet you're feisty, aren't you?" He took a lock of her still wet hair between his fingers. Felicity saw Oliver start to spring towards them but when she saw the guards raise their weapons, she lifted her hand to Oliver to tell him not to move. Slade laughed and looked towards Oliver. "I bet she's a screamer too?"

Felicity could see the look on Oliver's face. It was an unusual mix of pure fury and helplessness. There was no way that Oliver with his hands tied could fight off five armed, and likely juiced up, guards and Slade.

Slade walked back towards Oliver and removed a small side arm from a holster. "Now Oliver here's how it's going to go. You can pick which one to live and which one to die."

Oliver's head started to spin at the recollection of this situation with Shado and Sara. He could still picture Ivo's face as he squeezed the trigger. Oliver pictured Shado's lifeless form, a bullet hole in her head.

"I know you know how to play this game Oliver so if you choose quickly, it'll be less cruel on the two girls. And if you don't choose, I'll just kill both of them."

Felicity's hands started to shake uncontrollably and when she looked to Laurel she knew that she was similarly affected.

Oliver looked between the two women and walked to whispering distance from Slade. "These two are innocent. They don't deserve this."

"Did Shado deserve it?" Slade roared back at Oliver.

Felicity recalled Oliver talking about Shado from the island. She realized that silent tears had started to spill down her cheeks.

Oliver said louder this time, "Would Shado have wanted this?"

"Don't you dare tell me what Shado would have wanted!" Slade was screaming now. "I loved her and I had to see you prance around with her. You had obviously deceived her into falling for you but she was just coming out of your spell when she died. She would have loved me back." Slade's voice was mocking, yet mournful.

"I know she wouldn't want you to kill an innocent woman," Oliver felt bile in the back of his throat at the thought of Slade shooting either Felicity or Laurel. "Please you have me. Let them go."

"No. I want you to live long enough to watch the life drain out of them and know there is nothing that you can do. I want you to know what it's like to lose someone you love."

"I have lost people I love." Oliver thought of Tommy and Shado, his father and when he thought Sara was dead. "I know how awful it is but this won't bring her back."

"Well you chose poorly last time so you better be more careful this time." Slade pointed his weapon between Felicity and Laurel.

"I didn't choose. I asked Ivo to kill me and he shot Shado anyway."

"You chose Sara."

At that Laurel sprang forward. "What? Sara? She's died on the boat."

Oliver's eyes were downcast. This was not the way he hoped she would find out. I suppose there was never an ideal way to find it out. Laurel's eyes were red and puffy now.

Slade took a step towards her and looked between her and Oliver. "Oh well, well, well! She still thinks her sister drowned. Did you not tell her what really happened?"

Oliver looked pleadingly at Laurel. "Laurel I'm sorry. I had hoped to tell you this under different circumstances. She survived the initial sinking of the yacht. I thought it might be easier if you thought she drowned." Oliver really didn't want to go into the fact that Sara was still alive right now.

"How could you have lied?" Laurel cried.

"I'm sorry," Oliver repeated.

"Ooh I'm liking this added element of soap opera drama here. Is there anything else you'd like to tell Miss Lance before you make your choice?" Slade returned to his position next to Oliver.

Oliver muttered a barely audible _No_ and avoided Laurel's eyes. They needed to get out of this situation alive and he could make it up to her later.

"Are you sure? I could tell her a few secrets that I'm sure she would love."

"I won't choose," Oliver's voice was so low now.

"Well if you don't choose one of them I'll kill both." Slade motioned to two of his men who raised their weapons at the women's heads.

"No!" Oliver leapt forward.

"So choose. Contestant number one is this lovely brunette who you pined over for years and it would be history repeating itself it you chose to save a Lance again. Contestant number two is this peppy little blonde who seems to make you smile all goofily from I can tell watching you two together. Who will it be?" Slade aimed his weapon back and forward between the two. "Now who do you love the most? Tell me and I'll let them live."

"Surely that isn't a fair question either because if I tell you I love one of them and beg you to save them, it would make more sense for you to kill that one." Oliver knew he could only stall so long. He hadn't come up with a plan and hoped that Diggle had regained consciousness by now and was looking for them.

"That's a fair point. Well then you can tell me which one you love more and take the risk that I'll kill the other one or you can lie. It's really a bit of a tossup but if you do love either of these women, I wouldn't want them to live, or die, thinking you didn't choose them! It's all very complicated." Slade waved his gun between the two girls.

Oliver looked between the two again, tears stinging the back of his eyes. He would not let Slade see him affected. "How about you keep me in a hole for the rest of my life and I'll never get to see the one I love again? Surely that would be punishment enough!"

"That is tempting Oliver but you wouldn't have to live with knowing that the one you loved can never breath another breathe again. You wouldn't be able to imagine her decomposing in the ground- like I have to do with Shado."

Oliver looked Slade squarely in the face. "You know I cared about Shado too. Don't dishonor her by doing this."

Slade face contorted and then he smiled. "I'm getting bored now." He shoved Oliver a step forward. "Just point at who you want me to shoot and I'll immediately let the other one go. They can live their life to the full. I'm a man of my word."

Oliver was sure that if his heartbeat accelerated any more it would surely break out through his chest. The deadly silence was broken by Felicity's voice. "Please just kill me. If you have to kill somebody, just shoot me. You already said that you'll not know if he's lying to keep one or the other of us alive so just end this. Shoot me. It's a fifty-fifty chance."

"No!" Oliver sprang forward but was dragged back by Slade.

"Now that is an interesting proposition Miss Smoak." He shoved Oliver to his knees and walked towards Felicity. "Now why would you sacrifice yourself like that? Do you love him that much that you would die for him?"

"He shouldn't have to live with making that kind of choice. I don't think I'm the one he would choose to live and I don't want him having to live with the guilt of that decision."

"Oh isn't that sweet?" Slade looked back towards Oliver. "She thinks you love the other one more so she's sacrificing herself. This really is a hard decision. Maybe as she said it is fifty-fifty so I should just randomly shoot one of them. I was kind of hoping you'd keep the feisty blonde alive. She has cute little dimples." Felicity flinched as the touched her face. "It's ironic really. A blonde and a brunette, just like the last time."

Felicity couldn't look Oliver in the eye but he could hear him repeating, "No please," over and over again. "Please don't do this Slade," Oliver pleaded. "I'll do anything you want."

"I want you to choose," Slade screamed. "Is that so hard? You did it before now do it again!"

"I tried to save her. I tried to save Shado." Oliver's voice faltered slightly.

"You didn't try hard enough." Slade took a step back from Felicity and looked her in the eye. "I think I'll take your suggestion. If I shoot you and he really does love you he loses. If I shoot you and he loves the other one, they'll never be able to enjoy their happiness anyway so it's a win-win scenario."

As Felicity closed her eyes as tight as she could, she saw Oliver attempt to spring towards Slade. She only hoped that Slade would hold up his part of the bargain and let Laurel, and hopefully Oliver, live. She tried to calm her breathing and hoped that she would be at peace soon. She wanted to say to Oliver that she had no regrets but she couldn't find any words. All her sensations focused on the thrumming of the blood in her ears and she hoped that if there was an afterlife, she would see her loved ones too.

The bullet rang out and for a split second, there was silence.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Was this real? Was Felicity dead? She couldn't feel her body connected to her brain but she didn't know if she still drew breath.

An acrid smell filled her nostrils. Was this death? She had nothing to compare to! She had heard the gunfire. Was this the end?

Then another gunshot rang out. Felicity suddenly became aware that there was still noise around her. She realized she couldn't be dead. Her senses were starting to return and she realized multiple shots and bangs echoed around her.

Felicity dared to open her eyes. Around her she saw smoke. Her ears rang with a piercing frequency. Her head swam and she thought she might throw up. Then she took in the scene around her. She had been knocked to the ground. She tried lifting herself half up. Three of the armed guards were on the ground and she wasn't sure if they were dead.

Descending from the rafters, she saw a familiar black leather clad blonde woman coming down. In the confusion it was difficult to clear up what was going on. She saw the Black Canary close on Laurel's position. She realized that Laurel was prone on the ground and not moving.

She felt the vibrations in the ground and then she saw Diggle in the periphery of her vision. Explosions had obviously gone off but she was unable to take it all in properly. She assumed she had been knocked over with the force of the explosion. She attempted to get up when out of the smoke she saw Oliver's form come full force at her, his hands now free from their ties.

Oliver's full weight pressed Felicity into the ground and his hands went protectively around her head as another explosion went off and she heard a low growling scream that she hoped was Slade. She dared move her head to the side and saw Sara similarly protecting her sister's unconscious body. She looked up and made eye contact with Oliver. On combination of adrenaline, the smoke and Oliver's weight made breathing difficult. Oliver held her gaze for a moment longer and it felt like he might have stroked her hair but then he broke eye contact and jumped up.

Oliver's dress shirt was littered with speckles of blood and she knew he must have taken some shrapnel in the back by shielding her. Her head ached but she was otherwise unharmed. She scrambled over to Laurel.

"She's just unconscious. Will you stay with her a moment? We have some unfinished business," Sara said to Felicity, in full Black Canary mode.

Sara tossed her bow staff to Oliver and pulled a sword from a harness on her back. Felicity approved of the expansion in Black Canary's weapon choices. The smoke started to clear and Felicity could see Diggle was standing over two of the guards. They weren't moving and Diggle was leaning down to check a pulse.

Through the haze a figure emerged. Slade Wilson pointed the gun at Oliver too late as Sara sliced clean through his hand. Slade picked up an iron bar from the ground and knocked Sara's legs so hard she went down. Before she could regain her footing he roared and went straight for Oliver, the stump of his arm dripping blood.

Felicity thought this man must definitely have some of the residual effects of Mirakuru or he would be on the ground in agony right now. She also knew Oliver was injured and noticed he limped on the leg that he had broken five months previously. Slade swung at him and Oliver mirrored his gestured with the staff.

"You think you can win in a fight with me? I taught you most of what you know. You were weak then and you are weak now!" Slade screamed.

"But he has something now he didn't have then. A team!" Sara said before swiping Slade's legs out from under him. He fell to the ground with an almighty roar of defeat.

Oliver stood over Slade as he lay incapacitated on the floor. Sara pointed the sword at his chest. "I don't want to kill you Slade," Oliver stated.

"I want you to kill me. Be the cowardly murderer that I know you are," Slade spat back. "If you let me live I will come for your girls again and again and even the strongest prison won't stop me from putting a bullet on their pretty little…" Slade's sentence was cut short by Sara thrusting her sword straight into his heart.

Oliver stood motionlessly staring at Slade as he gurgled his last breaths and then went still. For several moments there was silence, which was only broken by Oliver dropping the bowstaff to the ground with a loud clang.

Diggle approached Oliver who didn't take his eye off of Slade's body. "It's over man. We should get moving. This place is fairly remote but somebody may have reported the explosions."

After a pause Oliver asked, "You used explosions because you knew these men were too strong to take down by hand?"

"Yep. After I woke up from my little nap I tracked you and Felicity with your tracking devices," Diggle said. Oliver eyes briefly cast backwards to Felicity at the mention of her name but didn't make contact with her eyes. "I got in contact with Sara who thankfully was near at hand and she dropped this effective but small blast radius explosives from her position from the rafters. I had armor piercing rounds and I tried to incapacitate the men but they kept fighting until I have to end them." Oliver knew Diggle didn't like killing any more than he did but he would do it to keep them safe.

Sara returned to Felicity's side and gave her hand a squeeze. Laurel was starting to moan and move and they realized she was coming around.

"Is it time to tell her yet?" Felicity asked Sara, asking is she would tell Laurel she was still alive.

"Not yet. Soon though. Will you look after her please? I'm going to make my exit."

As Laurel opened her eyes she saw the retreating figure of the Black Canary repelling back up to the rafters of the warehouse. She looked at Felicity. "Is that the woman who has been taking down guys in the Glades?"

Felicity smiled and helped her to a seated position. "Yeah. She just saved us."

Diggle approached them. "Come on. We have to go."

Outside Diggle had brought a van, which was alot less conspicuous than bringing the Bentley. Oliver walked silently ahead of the three and when they approached the van he turned to see Laurel looking straight at him. "I'm sorry. I thought it would be easier if you thought she died on the boat."

Laurel looked him square in the eyes and with a shake of her head turned away. The look on her face told him that she felt betrayed. She would need explanation but with all they had been through today they both knew that could wait until tomorrow. It was starting to get dark and Oliver opened the door to the van until both women got in. He still didn't look Felicity in the eye and silently went to sit with Diggle in the front.

When they reached Laurel's apartment, Laurel turned to Felicity. "I guess we should meet for coffee some time. Maybe talk about this?"

"Sure," Felicity returned with a half smile.

"And thank Mr Diggle for me please," she said before running into her building.

When they reached their secret entrance to the foundry, Diggle opened the door for Felicity. She realized that Oliver had already gone ahead. "Do you two have something you need to talk about?" Diggle asked.

"I think we do," Felicity sounded deflated.

"I'll give you guys your privacy. Ring me if you need me." Diggle pulled Felicity into a tight hug. "And don't ever go scaring me like that again," he tried to joke.

Felicity found her feet were almost having difficulty descending the familiar stairs. She realized she was still in the white dress Slade had made them wear that was now covered in dirt and specks of blood. The light pumps she wore slipped slightly on the bottom step making a noise that alerted Oliver to her presence.

Oliver raised his eyes to hers while undoing the buttons on his ruined shirt. "Are you ok?"

Felicity took a step closer to him. "It depends on your definition of ok, I suppose." She kept her eyes steady even though it felt like his eyes were boring into her soul. When it became too much, her eyes flitted to the ground and she spoke so quietly that he almost didn't hear. "For a minute I thought I was dead."

Felicity sensed his closeness before she looked up and realized he was now standing right in front of her. His chest puffing up and down as he breathed so very fast and then she heard an affected sigh from his throat as he gripped her upper arms.

She did not expect the sight that awaited her when he looked back up. Oliver looked at her with moist eyes, his face one of anguish. "Why did you do that?" Oliver pleaded. "Why did you volunteer yourself?" His voice was quivering like she had never heard before.

Felicity spoke again in a low voice, afraid she wouldn't be able to talk much longer if he kept looking at her like that. "Because I didn't want you to have to live with making that choice." And then she said even quieter, "Because you don't love me."

A long silence fell between them but his hands did not move from her upper arms. Felicity had to deflect her eyes but when he didn't respond she looked at him confused. "You don't love me?"

Oliver's right hand moved up to her face and touched the delicate skin so lightly that it tingled. "How could you think I don't love you?"

Felicity stood in stunned silence and when she spoke she stuttered slightly. "But you don't! You never showed me any signs you did. When we almost kissed you never brought it up again. I'm fairly sure you're still in love with Laurel and…"

Oliver's face softened a little and he continued his ministrations stroking her cheek. "I'm monumentally bad at expressing emotions- maybe a combination of the way I was brought up and the last seven years of hell have something to do with that. And I will always love Laurel but I'm no longer in love with her and I don't want to be with her. But I told you before that because of this life that I live I don't want to be with someone I care about because it will only hurt them. I've been trying to keep my feelings under control and I think I was able to even hide it from myself sometimes but when I was faced with losing you, I knew I couldn't ever be without you. You're my beacon of light." Oliver raised his other hand, taking Felicity's face in the palm of his two hands. "Felicity Megan Smoak _I love you_."

Felicity stood motionless for a long minute, her mouth hanging open slightly. She tried to process his words.

"You've gone very quiet," Oliver tried to say with a smile but she knew he was nervous in case she didn't return his feelings.

"Oliver…" she stammered. "I love you too."

A huge genuine smile that went right up to his eyes lit Oliver's face. A tear rolled down Felicity cheek but Oliver caught it with his thumb.

"Can I kiss you then? Because I've wanted to do that for quite a while," Oliver asked. When Felicity went up on her toes and moved towards him, this was all the permission he needed.

Their lips crashed together, months of tension dissolving between their lips. Felicity felt fire shoot through her body as she took time to savor the warmth of this mouth. Oliver moved his hands down her body until they sat at her low back. He pulled her in closer to him as she wound her arms around his neck. She took time to enjoy the feel of his hair beneath her fingers. Oliver's tongue swept along her lip and she obliged him by parting hers. Their tongues met and Felicity felt Oliver's neck muscles relax the more he kissed her. As she moved down his back she suddenly hopped back from the kiss. "Oh my God I forgot you're injured. We need to get those clothes off you."

Oliver gave her an amused look. "I was thinking that myself but maybe in a different way to what you're thinking."

Felicity smiled back at him but he pulled her into his body again. "Your kisses are like an anesthetic."

"They put you to sleep?" Felicity breathed close to his mouth again, her eyes flittered between his eyes and lips.

Oliver snorted a small laugh and rubbed her nose with his. "No. They make all the pain go away," he said before his mouth descended on hers again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for the great reviews again and with the patience in the update. I wasn't sure if the last chapter would be the end but I decided to end with this Epilogue. I just couldn't let my babies go. Please drop a review if you liked it.**

The Dark of Night Chapter 9

Oliver had woken up in a huge variety of different places in his life. He had woken in the plush surroundings of his four-poster bed in the Mansion. During his wild youth he had woken in many strange bedrooms and hotel rooms from which he had to make a quick exit. He'd once or twice woken up in parks and beaches that required a hurried phone-call to and rescue from Tommy. For five years he woke up in increasingly more bizarre locations on the island- Yao Fe's cave, Fyer's cage, Slade's camp in the plane. The last place made Oliver shudder now.

Oliver now lay in the warm bed contently thinking through all these places and realizing this had to be his favorite place to wake up. He had woken early with images of Slade's maniacal face resonating in his head which he tried to brush to the back of his consciousness with the plethora of his other bad memories.

The light had just started to peak in the window but he lay happily for the past hour with the warm body pressed in against him. Blonde curls spilled over his chest and small arms wrapped around his waist, on hand lazily entwined with his. He would happily lie there watching her sleep all day.

The previous day had been so filled with emotion that he knew Felicity must have been physically and mentally exhausted. When they had returned to the Foundry after escaping from the warehouse where Slade had brought them, Oliver had told Felicity how he felt about her.

They had kissed until Oliver realized that Felicity was faltering on her feet. He realized that she must have been drained after the day and possibly the residual effects of the sedative Slade had given her.

When Oliver realized that Felicity's legs were shaking, he sat down in a nearby chair and pulled her onto his lap. He drew her as tight into him as he could and her head nestled into the side of his neck. They didn't need to talk more right now- there would be time for that later. Oliver unconsciously rubbed circles into Felicity's knee as she brushed one hand lightly up and down his chest, her other hand instinctively gripping the material of his shirt tightly.

After sitting like this until Oliver felt his lids were heavy, he suddenly realized Felicity was still in the dress Slade had made her and Laurel wear. It was torn and dirty now but he suddenly wanted her to be wearing anything but the simple white cotton dress.

Oliver reluctantly pulled back slightly and looked Felicity in the eye. "Why don't we see is there any other clothes around here for you?"

Felicity voice was hoarse when she responded and he wondered was it due to the fatigue or possibly the smoke in the warehouse earlier. "I have my training gear around here somewhere. I'll pop into the shower. But not before you let me clean those wounds on your back."

Oliver looked ready to protest but when he saw her determined look, he could only smile in response. "Okay so."

Felicity hopped up from his lap and Oliver realized he felt bereft already without her. She pulled a small trolley over to them with first aid supplies on it. When she returned, Oliver hadn't moved from his position but his eyes never left her. Felicity stood looking down at him for a moment before walking in between in legs. The intimacy of the action sent shivers down through Oliver.

Felicity stared down at Oliver and saw him with all his vulnerability laid bare. His eyes were heavy with fatigue. As she stood in between his legs, he moved his hands to her hips, rubbing small circles through the thin material.

When he didn't make any move to remove his shirt, Felicity leant down and started opening the remainder of his shirt buttons. He silently watched her face, absent of all makeup or accessories and as beautiful as he had ever seen her. When she had undone all the buttons, she cautiously slipped her hands just under the material to push it down off his shoulders. When her fingers hit his skin, his ministrations on her hip stopped. Her breath hitched as he raised a hand to her face and pulled her down into a kiss. It was a more chaste kiss than their earlier embrace but a warm feeling spread through Felicity at the tenderness he showed as his lips brushed over hers. When his fingers went to the back of her head he pulled back slightly. Oliver looked at Felicity but her eyes were still rolled shut. "Don't let me forget to put ice on the back of your head later, ok?"

"Um-hmm," was all that Felicity could muster but after a moment her eyes flitted open and she saw Oliver smiling fondly at her. "Only after we get you cleaned up first."

Felicity silently cleaned the wounds on his back which were thankfully all superficial but a few needed some bandages. When she had applied the dressings, her hands took extra time to run over the scars on his back and without thinking, she leant down to lay soft kisses over some of the old scars. She felt Oliver stiffen for a brief second before his muscles relaxed again and leant a hand behind his back to grab hold of her hand. He pulled her into him and her face moved to the crook of his neck where she placed a delicate kiss before resting her face nestling into his skin. Her other arm came around so that she was now hugging him tightly from behind and he gripped her two hands hard, like he was scared she might disappear.

Oliver reluctantly let go but spun around in the chair to capture her lips once more. He leant back only slightly from their kiss so that his breath still coasted over her lips. "Why don't you get changed and I'll take you home?"

"That sounds like an offer too good to refuse," Felicity replied with a tinge of mirth in her voice. She was amused by the thought that many women would jump at the chance of being taken home by Oliver Queen but he was hers and she wasn't going to let him go. "I'll just jump in the shower and change so I'll be back in a few minutes."

When Felicity came out of the shower, she stomped the white dress as far as she could into the bin, a mental reminder to herself to burn it as soon as she could. When she exited the bathroom, she saw Oliver had obviously washed up too and he wore clean jeans and a simple white T-shirt covering the bandages.

Oliver drove them from the foundry. They sat in comfortable silence, each just glad that they were safe and together. Oliver reached his hand across and held Felicity's hand. When they neared her apartment building, Oliver spoke. "You know that time we were in the foundry and I tried to drive you away and you wouldn't let me? Thank you. I know I would ideally prefer you to be somewhere else altogether and never to have put you into danger but I selfishly don't think I could be without you."

Felicity laughed. "You're not selfish. You gave me that chance to run away and I don't blame you for the danger this life brings. I choose this life. And I choose you. So we can face the obstacles together. Okay?"

Oliver could see out of the corner of his eye Felicity's bright eyes reflecting the street-lights outside but the spark in them let him know, Slade hadn't killed her spirit.

When they entered Felicity's apartment, she noted the door lock was broken but she was still able to lock it with the deadbolt. She turned to see Oliver staring vacantly into her sitting room. He looked like he saw a ghost and knew that he must have been thinking of Slade. She took his hand gently. "It's ok. He can't hurt us ever again."

Still in the dark Felicity pulled him down the hall and into her bedroom. He had never been in here before and through the limited light coming in the window, he couldn't make out much. She pushed him gently down onto the bed and he could make out her toeing off her shoes. "Get yours off too." Oliver thought that he could almost feel her blush in the dark. "I meant your shoes. Well you can take off whatever you like. I mean whatever you sleep in usually. Unless you sleep naked? Well I don't mind if you want to sleep naked but between my lumpy head and your sore back I don't think either of us would be up to much. Not that I'm suggesting anything. And we're exhausted too. Well I'm not saying you couldn't perform just because you're tired. And I'm going to shut up in 3…2…1."

Oliver could be heard laughing in the darkness of the room. He couldn't believe that after all they had been through that day, she was still his old Felicity, rambling away. "You really are remarkable." Oliver pulled her towards where he sat on the bed. Felicity leant down towards him and he captured her lips in his. After they pulled apart breathless Oliver added, "Maybe I'll just take my jeans off, if that's ok."

"It's definitely ok," she responded, running her finger along his bottom lip.

As he took his shoes and jeans off he could sense her rummaging in a drawer and in the dark he could make out the faint silhouette of her stripping off her training gear and throwing an oversized T-shirt over her head. As tired as he was, he couldn't help be slightly aroused by the outline of her form. There would be plenty of time for their passion later, tonight they both just needed comfort. As Oliver folder his jeans and put them at the side of the bed, Felicity brushed past him and hopped onto the bed. She extended a hand to him and pulled him under the thick duvet. He lay down on the pillows that smelled distinctly Felicity and when he was comfortable, he pulled her close into him. Her head nestled on his chest. She would have loved to lay her head on his bare chest but guessed he didn't want to take the chance of his back bleeding all over her bed.

She idly wrapped one of her legs around his and cuddled herself into him, his strong arms making her feel supremely safe. Felicity enjoyed the feel of Oliver's skin against her in a way they had never really allowed themselves enjoy previously. It was only minutes before her eyes became too heavy and she fell asleep in the arms of the man she loved.

When Felicity woke the next morning, she stretched her hand out to the pillow next to hers. She leapt up onto her knees when she found it empty. A small screech escaped her lips. Like lightening, Oliver sprang through her bedroom door, dressed in just his white T-shirt and boxers. He ran towards her and pulled her quickly into his arms.

"What's wrong? Were you having a nightmare?" When he pulled back, she was breathing heavily. She leant up and began stroking his face like she was seeing if he was real. "You didn't think I had left, did you?" Oliver didn't know should he feel slightly hurt.

"No. It's just…if it wasn't for the sore bump on my head, I would have thought for a moment, I had dreamed all this."

Oliver pulled her back into his embrace. "I'm sorry. I was just in the bathroom cleaning myself up a bit. I didn't mean to scare you." Oliver climbed onto the bed next to her, pulling her into his side. "How's the head?"

"Just a little sore. How's the back?" Felicity voice was still a little hoarse and he tried not to find it the sexiest thing he'd ever heard.

"It's pretty good. You did a good job dressing it."

"Oh my god look at the time," Felicity tried to move from Oliver's arms but he wouldn't let her.

"It doesn't matter what time it is. I rang into the office and said we both have some terrible food poisoning."

"But what will people think?"

"I don't care what people think. Isabel did not sound amused on the phone…" Oliver stopped as he felt Felicity bristle at the sound of Isabel's name. "But I don't give a damn about that woman and what she thinks." Felicity relaxed again into his embrace.

"You know you'll have to go talk to Laurel."

"I think maybe I should leave it a day or two. I don't think she wants to talk to me right now."

"I can phone her later and see if she's ok."

"Thank you Felicity."

"And I must try to contact Sara and thank her too. I didn't really get a chance to yesterday."

"She really came through for us."

"Yes she did," Felicity whispered. After a while, Felicity reluctantly enfolded herself from Oliver's embrace. "You should probably check in at home. They might be worried about you."

"Yeah I suppose I had better." Oliver bent forward to kiss Felicity's nose. "You know I think both us deserve a break away from crime-fighting for a few days. What do you think?"

"Yeah I think you're right." Felicity smiled sweetly up at him.

"I'd love to take you out on a proper date you know?"

"Aren't we supposed to have food poisoning?"

"Good point. Well I know some of the best chefs in top restaurants in Starling City so why don't I ring one of them up and for a nice little tip, I'm sure they can make up a takeaway and when I've shown my face at home, I can collect it and bring it back here this evening. Maybe watch a movie. Do things that normal couples do."

"So we're a couple then?" Felicity jested.

"I thought you were going to pick on the fact that we're most definitely not 'normal'," Oliver laughed. "Why don't you have a long bath or something and I'll bring back some overpriced wine with the food and see you at six?"

"Sounds perfect." Oliver could see that Felicity wasn't going to let Slade ruin her strong spirit.

"No, you're perfect Miss Smoak," Oliver said as he started to pepper kisses down Felicity's jaw and onto her neck.

"Charmer! Get your ass back here later Mr Queen. I'll be waiting anxiously for you," Oliver could hear the seductive lilt in her voice and knew he needed to go now or his arousal would be too overwhelming to leave.

Oliver hopped off the bed and Felicity lay back on the pillows watching him put on his jeans. "Voyeur," he joked, winking at her. He couldn't help but think the sight of Felicity reclining in nothing but a shirt that hung down off her shoulder and with her perfect legs peaking out from underneath was the most spectacular thing he had ever witnessed.

"Well I don't have to pretend I'm not looking any more. I can drool at you on the salmon ladder all I want now." Felicity climbed forward on all fours towards the edge of the bed to meet Oliver where he gave her one last passionate kiss before reluctantly leaving.

Felicity spent the day lounging in the bath and on the bed she had shared with Oliver last night thinking over everything that had happened in recent days. It sometimes takes the worst of events to bring forth the best of occurrences. Not that she would willfully go through the hell she and Laurel had went through yesterday again but without this horrific situation occurring, she wondered how long is would have been before Oliver admitted how he felt.

The two of them had been dancing around their emotions for too long. She hadn't allowed herself think too much about it lest her feelings go unmatched. She would have preferred to continue meandering the path they had been on than admit her feelings and risk losing Oliver altogether. She knew Oliver had cared a great deal about her but he was a master of concealing his emotions so she would never had thought that he would tell her he loved her.

Late in the afternoon Felicity started to get a bit nervous. It had been a while since she had slept with anyone and going by the huge amount of unresolved sexual tension between them over the past year and a half, she was sure that if Oliver felt similarly, she would be more than happy to make love to him tonight. The thought of sex with Oliver sent simultaneous sparks of arousal and tendrils of apprehension through her. She expected Oliver to be more experienced than her and what if she didn't live up to expectations? After half an hour of staring at her wardrobe looking for something that said _I'm a sexy seductress _balanced with _But I'm not easy either, _she choose a semi-casual pink dress with thin straps. She knew all too well what she was doing though because she choose something that showed off her best attributes. She caught Oliver looking at her legs more than once and she thinks she caught he checking her ass also. She might have found it pervy in someone else but she would let Oliver away with it.

After her little pep talk with herself to calm a slight panic attack at the thought of sex with Oliver, she tidied the apartment and fixed her hair. She spoke to Laurel and to Dig on the phone and before she realized it, it was nearly six.

Right on time the doorbell went. She peeped out through the spy hole and saw Oliver laden down with bags of food and wine.

When she opened the door Oliver was examining the damage he had done to her door. "I must fix that properly tomorrow. I'll…" He was cut off by Felicity launching herself at him. She threw her arms around his neck like she hadn't seen him in years and devoured his lips. Oliver leaned his head at an angle to oblige her further and his tongue coasted over her lips before a moan escaped her lips. She kissed him ferociously as the sight of him standing in her doorway was arousing just in itself. When she pulled back Oliver spoke in husky tones. "If you keep doing that I'm going to just have to drop this food on the ground and have you here in the hallway. I'm ok with that but I'm not sure how your neighbors will feel."

Felicity sheepishly led Oliver into the apartment with a slight blushing hue rising in her cheeks. He followed her into the kitchen and she could see the cheeky smile curling his lips. When he put the bags on her kitchen counter, he took her hand and spun her around. "Come here. I didn't get a chance to fully appreciate you with my hands full."

Felicity smiled before being pulled into his embrace. With a hand holding her tight on the hip and one caressing her hair lightly, he kissed her with such a desire that it made her stomach flutter. If she ever had any doubts about how he felt, his soul was laid bare in this one kiss. He pulled her into him as close as he could. When he sensed she was struggling on her toes to meet his height, he easily lifted her onto a nearby stool. He continued to consume her lips until she was slightly tilted back off the stool and her leg wrapped around one of his thighs to anchor herself. Adorable mewling noises escaped Felicity's throat every now and again and a small, amused sound from Oliver's lips made Felicity pull apart. She looked at him with the most seductive look he had ever seen. "Everything ok?"

"Everything is more than ok," he said placing a small kiss to her bare shoulder. "It's just if we keep doing this, I don't think I'll be able to control myself much longer and I think you deserve a proper date before we go any further."

"Well I don't want all that nice food going to waste," Felicity said with a smile. "But you've brought me out to eat plenty of times. Just they weren't officially dates, I suppose."

"You deserve to be treated like the most important person in the world and wined and dined- the whole package. I don't want you to think that I would just want you for sex."

"I would usually find that sentiment endearing but I think we've had over a year of foreplay so we can forego some of the preamble dating." Felicity hopped off the stool and started to rummage through the bag. "But then again anticipation is good too." She let a small squeak escape from her as Oliver hugged her from behind as she unloaded the bags.

"Do you know how irresistible you are?" Oliver nipped playfully down her neck- she pretended not to be affected while unloading the food.

Her head fell back and her eyes rolled shut before she added, "Ok. I think we need a touching amnesty for at least two hours or this lovely food will go to waste."

Oliver spun her around and pouted adorably. "Ok so. But it's going to be a long two hours."

Felicity and Oliver sat at her kitchen table for the next few hours in easy conversation. Not that they didn't always have chats but they were both afraid that they might be uncomfortable with their new relationship status. Oliver really came through with the food. It was a dozen small Tapas tasters with a half dozen small tasting deserts and some of the best wine Felicity had even tasted.

When all the food was eaten and the kitchen tidied, Felicity spied Oliver looking at his watch. "Should I be concerned that you're bored already?"

"Definitely not bored but as of…" he paused and looked at his watch again, "now, it's eight pm." Oliver pulled Felicity towards him with firm hands on her waist. "So where was I?" Oliver started trailing kisses down her jaw and neck before moving to her shoulder, the strap of her dress easily moving out of the way. Heat shot through Felicity's body as she caressed Oliver's hair, her thumbs tickling his ears.

Felicity moved backwards until her body came in contact with the kitchen table. Oliver easily lifted her by the thighs onto the table, his thumbs caressing the skin just below the hem of her dress. "Maybe we should move this somewhere more comfortable," Oliver suggested, his lips setting a fiery line down her neck.

"What's wrong with right here?" Felicity asked playfully.

Oliver pulled back slightly. "I don't think this table can take all the things I have planned for you." With that Oliver swept her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

For the second morning in a row Oliver woke contented. Felicity was again still nestled into his side, though this side she was completely naked. Images of her writhing in pleasure beneath him brought a smile to his lips. Felicity stirred and looked up at him. "Hey," she said simply.

"Hi there," Oliver replied, leaning a soft kiss on her nose. "Thank you for last night. I had a great time."

"Me too," she responded, a slight blush in her cheeks. "So no regrets?"

Oliver pulled her in closer to him still. "Definitely no regrets. You make me a happier man than I ever thought I could be."

"You deserve to be happy and you make me feel happy too." Felicity stroked his chest with a finger, her eyes suddenly downcast. "I know today is going to be a hard day- the anniversary of the earthquake."

"It will be hard but with you by my side, everything is so much easier."

Felicity leant up and grabbed his face between her hands, kissing him. They both knew that there would be tough times but together it would be alright.


End file.
